Into the Morning
by JewWitch
Summary: LAST CHAPTER IS UP! The grown-up adventures of Spencer, Ashley, their super-cute kids, and their crazy-amazing life.
1. Chapter 1

**Into the Morning**

**By JewWitch**

**Summary:** This story is a follow-up to my one-shot futurefic, "My Family Essay by Jackson Carlin-Davies." I just couldn't get Ashley on tour out of my head...then she started singing and, well, it was all over! This is a first for me-- having **two** stories going at once (the other is _Really_)-- so I hope y'all appreciate it!

**Note: **Ashley's song "Into the Morning" is actually by The Weekend; but I did change the words a tiny bit to fit our girls even better :)

**Rating: **T for language

"Anybody want another glass of wine?" Spencer called over her shoulder.

"I'll take one," Kyla said with a smile. "Want a hand?"

"Nah," Spencer waved her off, "I got it." Padding into the spacious kitchen, Spencer poured out two glasses of Pinot Grigio, taking a sip from one. She glanced automatically around the room, leaning back against the marble countertop, her eyes resting on a large watercolor painting of an octopus that her son had brought home proudly just that day, and which had immediately found a place of honor on the refrigerator. Moonlight from the large bay windows illuminated the masterpiece, glittering slightly from the gold sparkles he'd mixed into the paint.

"Spence, come on!" Glen's voice called from the living room. "She's coming on!" Coming out of her reverie on her son's artistic genius, Spencer grabbed the two glasses and headed back to where her friends were gathered around her almost garishly-huge flat-screen TV.

"Here you go, Ky," she smiled, handing over the second glass of wine as she sat next to her sister-in-law.

"Thanks," Kyla smiled back. Then both of them turned their attention to the TV, where, on a stage somewhere in London (and thanks to Pay-Per-View Live OnDemand), Ashley was at that moment walking onto the screen to tumultuous applause. She wore a simple ensemble that still managed to be incredibly hot (then again, Spencer thought with a blush, when _didn't_ her wife look incredibly hot?): a plain white men's tank top (usually called a wifebeater, though Ashley absolutely hated the term and refused to say it) with a pair of old, torn jeans held up with a black leather belt. She had a bright red streak in her long brown hair, which flowed loose over her shoulders, and her guitar dangled loosely from her back. Spencer sighed, totally transfixed, eyes glued to the screen.

"Girl, how do you do that?" Madison demanded, cocking her head at Spencer incredulously.

"What?" Spencer blinked, tearing her eyes away from the screen momentarily.

"Don't give me what! You've been married ten years, and you still look at her like you did in high school!" Spencer grinned shyly, ducking her head.

"Wait," Glen held up his hand, looking at his wife with an overdone expression of incredulity. "Are you saying I _don't_ look at you like that anymore, Mad?" She smacked his shoulder, and he tickled her until she shrieked with laughter.

"Okay, Papi, you win!" She gasped through her laughter, and he finally released her, throwing one arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him, still shaking with giggles.

"That's right. I'm Papi." He looked around the room, at his wife, sister, and two sisters-in-law. "I guess that's not saying much in this room, huh?"

"Shh! Will you guys be quiet?" Spencer shushed them, her eyes back on Ashley's form on the screen, already halfway through her opening number.

"Like you don't have all her songs memorized anyway," Chelsea teased.

"Nu-uh!" Spencer whined, feeling suddenly extremely adolescent, an inclination exacerbated by the fact that everyone in the room had known her since high school. "I told you, she's playing some secret new song tonight...that she wrote for me." For the second time in less than ten minutes, Spencer felt her cheeks flush.

"Mija, that girl is one lucky rock star," Madison grinned.

"Mama?" They all looked up to see Spencer and Ashley's seven-year-old son standing in the doorway, trailing his worn-out stuffed monkey by one leg and looking pale and sleepy.

"Jacksie, what are you doing up?" Spencer asked gently, pushing herself up off the couch and gathering her son into her arms.

"I had a bad dream," he mumbled, his voice muffled in her hair. "I miss Mommy."

"I know you do, baby," Spencer said soothingly, sitting back down between Kyla and Chelsea. "I do, too." She kissed the top of his head, allowing him to settle into her lap with his head nestled into the crook of her arm.

"Can I watch the concert with you?" He asked, blinking his large brown eyes up at her. "Please, Mama?" Spencer knew on some level that it was irrational, because Jackson and Ashley didn't actually share any genetic material; but still, when her son looked at her, sometimes she saw Ashley's eyes staring back into her own.

"Just for a few minutes," She agreed, and he snuggled contentedly into her arms. Madison caught her eye, and smiled that knowing, mother-to-mother smile.

"Honey, is your cousin still asleep up there?"

"Yah," Jackson nodded. As an afterthought, he added, "She snores really loud."

"Well we all know who's fault that is," Madison said with a wry grin at her husband.

"Hey, I do _not _snore," Glen proclaimed, affronted.

"Keep telling yourself that, Querido," she smirked. Spencer let Jackson stay up for three more songs, then rose to return him to bed. Jackson went willingly, but insisted on calling Ashley's cell to leave a goodnight message first. She brought him into the kitchen and allowed him to dial the number he knew by heart, then led him back upstairs. He hadn't been lying about Ana's snoring, either; Spencer decided to allow Jack to go back to sleep in her bed, knowing she could easily move him back to his own room once she was ready to go to bed herself. She put on his favorite bedtime CD of songs Ashley had recorded especially for him in the studio, and left him peacefully cuddling his monkey as his eyes drooped, and finally closed.

"Did I miss anything?" Spencer asked anxiously as she dropped back onto the couch.

"Nothing we haven't heard before," Kyla assured her, knowing Spencer was waiting for her "secret song." Gratified, Spencer leaned back into the cushions, absently sipping her wine as her eyes followed Ashley's body leaning into the microphone. This was a familiar song, and Spencer's lips moved automatically along with the lyrics. Everyone noticed this, though they all refrained from commenting and merely grinned at her. At the end of the song, the audience erupted into wild applause.

"Thank you!" Ashley said huskily into the microphone, waving out into the crowd with a wide, sexy grin. "Thank you so much!" When the screaming had finally died down, Ashley cleared her throat and looked directly into the camera. Spencer felt her breath catch in her chest. _This is it_, she thought fleetingly, sitting up a little straighter on the couch.

"This is a new song," Ashley informed the crowd, her voice echoing through the PA system. "I, um, wrote this one for the light of my life...the mother of my children...for our tenth wedding anniversary." Her eyes sparkled, and Spencer gazed into them as if Ashley were right here in front of her, not five thousand miles away on the TV screen. She barely registered the crowd's screams of enthusiasm, wondering vaguely in the back of her mind how her wife managed to be such a badass rock star, and still somehow achieve a level of sweetness that left her a complete pile of mush. "It's about when we were in high school...it's called, _Into the Morning_." The crowd was going berserk as Ashley began to play the first few chords. "Happy anniversary, Spencer baby," she grinned into the mic, then began to sing.

Thinking of you - yeah, I'll think of you all day -

think of your kiss kissing my lips... I'll remember this always.

Got the goofiest grin - got a big smile on my face -

hey you, let's get out of this place...

grab my hand, let's go. Say it's young love at it's best,

and I tell you I'll remember:  
Breaking you out through your bedroom window,

yeah I'm breaking you out of your parents' house,

staying out all night and

into the morning

into the morning

until the sun comes up, and ruins it all.  
Monday morning's first class - ditch it! - we'll hang out in the parking lot...  
Only the two of us  
We'll make out till the stars come out -

lay and watch them -

that one looks just like the one in your eyes...

c'mon grab my hand and let's go...  
drinking peach schnapps and hanging out in our underwear...

going to parties and leaving because there's no one there...

skipping our classes cause really we don't even care about anything at all...

we'll get tattoos that we swear we'll never hate...

break the rules and stay out way too late...

ain't life grand, isn't it great having no care in the world?  
It was young love at it's best, and it's you that I'll remember...

Breaking you out through your bedroom window,

yeah I'm breaking you out of your parents' house,

staying out all night and

into the morning

into the morning

into the morning..."

The crowd was beside itself. Spencer dimly realized that she had tears streaming down her face, and she hastily moved to wipe them away. Chelsea noticed, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders with a commiserating grin.

"Girl, that _is _one lucky rock star," she echoed Madison, giving Spencer a squeeze.

"I think my heart is going to explode," Spencer half-laughed, half-cried, leaning into Chelsea's arm as her entire body trembled.

"It seems like such a long time ago now," Kyla mused, leaning back and sipping her wine reflectively. "I totally remember the note she left me that night, too: _Ky-- gone to rescue Rapunzel from the tower! Call U when we're safe. Love, your sister the prince_." They all laughed, remembering their youthful exploits with the satisfaction of life well lived.

"Spencer?"

"Hmm?" Spencer glanced over at her brother, still flushed with love and longing and a little too much wine.

"You don't actually have a tattoo...do you?"

"Huh?" Spencer felt the heightened blush in her cheeks rapidly draining.

"In the song...she said, _we'll_ get tattoos we swear we'll never hate. I know Ashley has one, that _S_ inside her wrist...but..." he almost looked as if he didn't want to know.

"Actually..." Spencer glanced around, as they all looked at her with great interest. "I, um...I have one too, yeah, an _A_." Glen wolf-whistled.

"I can't believe my little sister has a tattoo, and I never knew! Well, c'mon." He blinked at her expectantly.

"Come on, what?" Spencer blinked back innocently.

"Whip it out, that's what!" Glen demanded. Spencer snorted with laughter, clapping a hand over her mouth.

"I don't think so, Glen," she chuckled.

"Why not?" Glen demanded.

"Because it's somewhere private, dumbass." Glen looked like he might be sick.

"Awww, man! Thanks a lot, Spencer, I think I'm gonna hurl," he moaned.

"You brought it up," Spencer shrugged, still grinning goofily as the lyrics to Ashley's new song floated through her head. _We'll make out till the stars come out - __lay and watch them - that one looks just like the one in your eyes...c'mon grab my hand and let's go... _

_I'll follow you anywhere, baby_, Spencer thought, her eyes drifting back to the beautiful girl playing her guitar on the screen.

The wild applause were still reverberating in Ashley's chest as she left the stage, drenched in sweat, adrenalin pumping through her like wildfire. She always felt this way after a show; and yet tonight, if it were possible, she felt it even more. She hoped Spencer had been watching...she'd _told _her to watch, told her she was singing a new song for her tonight, but from the other side of the Atlantic, nothing felt a hundred percent certain. She hated leaving Spencer and the kids behind when she went on tour, but to be apart for their tenth anniversary...well, she'd known she needed to do something big to make up for that. And she had. At least, she hoped she had.

"Hey Ash, tight set tonight!" her manager, Michelle, called to her as she flounced into the green room and handed her guitar over to a roadie.

"Thanks, 'Chelle," Ashley grinned, her pulse still thrumming wildly as she pulled her hair, damp with sweat, back into a ponytail.

"You coming out with the crew tonight? We got the scoop on a happening after-hours." Ashley stood at the couch, rooting through her bag until her fingers found her new iPhone. Immediately her face broke into a huge grin, as her eyes fell on the screen to reveal both a text and a voicemail from home.

"I'll catch up with you," she said absently, wandering into her private dressing room and flopping down on an even larger and more comfortable couch than the one in the green room. She opened the text message first: _omg. love you love you love you. S ;) _Grinning, she flipped the phone open to listen to her voicemail, sprawling out on the couch with one foot dangling over the arm. She was surprised, and only fleetingly disappointed, to hear her son's voice coming through the receiver rather than her wife's.

"Hi Mommy!" Ashley quickly did the time-zone math in her head, trying to figure out how late her son had stayed up to make this call. "Don't be mad I'm up," he said immediately, displaying his usual knack for intuitive pre-emption. "I _was_ asleep, but Ana's staying over and she was snoring and I woke up, and I missed you too much to go back to sleep." Ashley's heart melted. "So Mama said I could call you to say goodnight. Everybody's here watching you play. Auntie Kyla and Auntie Chelsea and Uncle Glen and Auntie Madison. And Mama let me watch a little too. You played good tonight, Mommy. But I'm glad you're coming home soon. We miss you. Especially Mama misses you. She cries a lot at night when you're not here." Ashley's heart suddenly re-solidified, and twisted into a sharp bundle of ache. "...I know it's okay to cry when you're sad," Jackson continued, with the quintessential boldness of young children, "but I still think you should call when you're done playing, okay? Tell Mama you love her and you miss her and you can't wait to come home again, okay? Then she won't be sad. Goodnight, Mommy-- I love you!" Ashley saved the message, resting the phone against her chest for a moment, eyes closed. Then she hit the speed-dial.

"Hey rock star," the warm voice on the other end purred, flooding Ashley's entire body with a fresh surge of adrenalin even better than the one she came off stage with.

"Hey beautiful," she hummed back happily. "Did you like your present?"

"Baby, it was...it was just..." Ashley's chest constricted as she realized Spencer was crying. "I loved it."

"I love _you_," Ashley said simply.

"Oh, Ash, I love you too...God I miss you so much..."

"I miss you too, baby...every fucking minute."

"God it's so hard to be away from you..." Ashley could hear the hitch in Spencer's breathing, knew she was trying to control her emotions, and the ache in her heart redoubled.

"Why don't you come spend a week in Europe with me, Spence? For our anniversary? We'll be in Paris tomorrow, and then Amsterdam...we could stay in that little hotel by the Picasso Museum with the croissants you love..."

"Oh, baby, don't tempt me," Spencer sighed wistfully.

"It's my _job_ to tempt you," Ashley replied wickedly. "Come on, you haven't taken any vacation days yet this year, I know you've got the time coming..."

"It's not that, it's just-- everything, the kids-- I can't just up and take off. Jacks can't miss a week of school."

"So let Chelsea take them," Ashley said firmly, "like she's been offering to do forever...lord knows we took Clay off her hands enough when he was little."

"I don't know, Ash..."

"Thinking of you - yeah, I'll think of you all day," Ashley sang quietly into the receiver, grinning devilishly. "Think of your kiss kissing my lips... I'll remember this always..."

"Okay," Spencer cut in.

"Okay what?" Ashley teased.

"Okay, I'll meet you in Paris," Spencer laughed. "...In the morning."


	2. ways to pass a plane ride

Hey peeps!

Thanks so much to everyone who's been giving me feedback, it totally makes my day! You all rock my teenage party world. Thanks especially to Chase-- I don't think anyone's ever thanked me for existing before (you're welcome) ;)

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 2**

**By JewWitch**

"Okay Jackie, give Mama a big kiss goodbye," Chelsea nudged the dark-haired boy clinging to her leg. Jack looked up. His lip quivered.

"Oh, baby, come here," Spencer smiled, and the little boy threw himself into her arms, obviously trying his best for the stiff upper-lip.

"P-p-promise you'll call every night at bedtime?"

"Every night," Spencer nodded solemnly.

"And you'll be home with Mommy in a week."

"Mm-hmm." Jackson hugged his mother as tight as he could, kissing her cheek before running back to Chelsea and burying his face in her side.

"C'mon, Jack-attack, we're gonna have mad fun this week," Clay said bracingly, clapping his little cousin's shoulder. "You're gonna come show all my boys your moves on the court, right?" Jack sniffed, and nodded.

"Okay, Ella-Bella," Spencer smiled at her daughter and picked her up from her stroller, kissing her. "Mama's gonna go bye-bye now." The little girl frowned, and her blue eyes filled with tears.

"Mama go bye-bye?" Spencer nodded, and Ella burst into tears. "No, Mama stay with Elly! Pitty pease!" Jackson looked up from his aunt's leg; Spencer could almost see the gears shifting in her son's head, emboldening him to step up to the roll of the brave big brother.

"It's okay, Elly. I'm gonna stay with you, okay?"

"Jackie stay?" Ella whimpered. Her blond hair was falling out of its wispy pigtails.

"Yeah, and Auntie Chelsea and Cousin Clay, too. Won't that be fun, Elly?" The toddler looked from her brother to her cousin, then back at Spencer. "Mama come home soon?"

"Very soon," Spencer assured her, kissing the little girl again for good measure.

"Otay," Ella sniffed, holding out her arms. "Elly go Clay." Spencer handed off the tiny girl to her nephew, mouthing the words _thank you _to him over her daughter's head. Clay beamed at her, his resemblance to his father suddenly striking. With a final round of kisses, she turned and walked down the long corridor to the security gate, a hard lump forming in the back of her throat as she forced herself not to turn around. She couldn't believe how hard it was to leave her children behind, even knowing it was only for a week. Was this what Ashley went through every time she had to leave them?

This thought had a strangely calming effect; Ashley. She was going to see Ashley in twelve hours. She was going to _touch_ Ashley in twelve hours. The long line through security and the walk to her gate seemed to float by, and she was still grinning goofily when she got to her seat. She happily accepted her complimentary cocktail (flying first class _did_ have its benefits), and her mind drifted...she couldn't believe she'd been married ten years. It sounded like such a long time, and yet it didn't feel long. She didn't feel old enough to have been married for ten years (not, she reminded herself fleetingly, that 32 was old...). Of course, with Ashley around, it was hard to be too grown-up or take yourself too seriously...Spencer suspected that it was mainly Ashley's influence that kept her feeling like she was still 21. Her eyes closed as the plane taxied and lifted off, remembering back to when they actually were 21, the first year she'd taken Ashley home to her family for Christmas in Ohio...It was the first time they'd gone back to Ohio for the holidays since the move to LA. Little Clay, as they'd called him then, had just turned three, and Spencer's grandparents had insisted that their great-grandchild was old enough to have his first big family Christmas on the farm. So they'd all gone, Chelsea and Little Clay and Spencer and Glen and their parents; Glen had insisted on bringing Madison along, to their mother's obvious delight, and Spencer had insisted on bringing Ashley, whereupon the entire operation nearly fell apart. There had been a week's worth of fights, during which Ashley and Spencer's dad laid low as much as possible, and spent a few long nights playing darts together at Arthur's favorite local pub. Ultimately Paula had given in only when Spencer laid down the law, saying simply that if Ashley didn't go, then she didn't, either. The plane ride had been extremely tense, as Ashley constructed all kinds of terrifying visions of Spencer's grandmother as an older and meaner version of Paula, while Spencer agonized over how she was going to introduce Ashley to her grandparents. The day of the trip, neither of them ate anything but packets of Tums.

"Spencer, dear, do you need any help with the cookies?" The kindly old lady shuffled into the kitchen and patted Spencer's cheek.

"That's okay, Nana, you go relax and visit with everyone. Ashley's helping me." Ashley, who had been doing her best to convince Spencer to abandon the baking and sneak out to the barn and have sex, looked up innocently and nodded.

"Yeah, Mrs. Kay, you go ahead. We've got everything under control here."

"Such good girls," The old woman beamed, and patted Ashley on the cheek, too, before she shuffled back out again. The two girls grinned sheepishly at each other as she left.

"She really has no idea," Ashley chuckled, shaking her head.

"Hey, I _told_ them you were my girlfriend, didn't I? I said the words, 'this is my girlfriend Ashley.' Can I help it if she calls all her old lady friends 'girlfriends'? What the hell am I supposed to do, tell her, _no, no, Nana-- you see, Ashley and I actually have freaky hot lesbian sex?" _Spencer cocker her head, hands on her hips, and Ashley snorted with laughter.

"Now I feel guilty," Ashley whined, her lower lip sticking out in a pout. "I guess we should just make the stupid cookies."

"Hey, these cookies are _not_ stupid," Spencer said sternly, shaking a floury finger at her girlfriend. "You just wait until you taste them, and remember you said that." Wiping her hands on her apron, she turned back to the table where the dough sat waiting to be mixed.

"Hmm, I think I'd rather have my favorite candy," Ashley said ominously, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers and giving Spencer a long look.

"Swedish Fish?" Spencer blinked, confused.

"Nope," Ashley said slowly. "My new favorite candy." Spencer raised her eyebrows in silent question. Ashley crossed the kitchen and took Spencer's hand, dipping her finger in a pot of chocolate sauce that sat cooling on the stove. "Junior MILF," She winked, and sucked Spencer's chocolate-coated finger into her mouth. Spencer gave a small gasp, feeling her whole body light up the way it always did when Ashley touched her. For her part, Ashley was making quite sure she did a thorough job cleaning all the chocolate off Spencer's hand; when her tongue dipped into the sensitive spot between the two fingers, Spencer could feel herself getting wet. She whimpered.

"Yummy," Ashley grinned, licking her lips. Spencer grabbed her and pushed her up against the counter, kissing her deeply. Ashley returned the kiss enthusiastically, her hands running up under the back of Spencer's shirt. "Mmm..." she sighed, then wrenched her lips away from Spencer's, panting. "Baby, are you sure we should...in here?" She asked anxiously, knowing she was getting her comeuppance for getting Spencer so riled up.

"No," Spencer mumbled against her neck, scraping over the soft skin with her teeth and making her girlfriend arch against her with a low whine of longing. "We shouldn't..." She slipped her hand up Ashley's skirt.

"Cookie dough! Cookie dough!" Three-year-old Clay Jr. burst into the room, shrieking happily, with Chelsea on his heels. Ashley and Spencer sprang apart, but Little Clay was already grinning knowingly at them, in that superior, childish way.

"Um, right, cookie dough!" Spencer squeaked, straightening her hair and determinedly avoiding Ashley's eyes.

"I saw you kissing," Clay said gleefully.

"Mind your business, young man," Chelsea said sternly, but they could all see that she was biting back a grin. The little boy looked thoroughly unabashed, and went directly toward the bowl of dough in the middle of the table.

"No, baby, that's got raw eggs," Spencer said to him, pulling away his outstretched hand. "It could make you very sick. Here, how about some chocolate sauce?"

"Yeah!" Clay exclaimed gleefully, allowing Spencer to lead him to the pot on the stove, and happily accepting a spoonful. He smacked his lips thoughtfully.

"Mama?" He blinked up at Chelsea. "Did you love Daddy the way Auntie Spencer loves Ashley?" The giggling in the room suddenly stopped; Ashley lowered her camera, having just caught Clay's chocolaty face in a snapshot.

"Yes, baby, I did," Chelsea smiled sadly, kissing the top of her son's head. Clay nodded seriously.

"I thought so," he said. After Chelsea had herded him back out to the den to watch a Disney movie, Spencer and Ashley stood grinning shyly at each other across the room. Slowly and deliberately, Spencer re-tied her apron (which had _somehow_ come undone) and crossed to where Ashley stood fiddling with the camera. Leaning up against her girlfriend, Spencer gently laid her hands on either side of Ashley's head, stroking her girlfriend's hair lightly with her thumbs.

"I am very..." Spencer leaned in, giving Ashley the lightest of kisses. "Very..." Another kiss. "Happy that you're here with me," she finished, with a final, slightly longer and deeper kiss that was, nonetheless, designed to cool the flame that had blazed between them a few minutes ago, rather than reignite it.

"I'm very very happy that I'm here with you, too," Ashley grinned dopily, her hands resting on Spencer's hips. "If I got any happier, I think I'd explode, and you'd have little bits of me in all the cookies."

"Hmm, I can think of better ways to eat you than--"

"Spencer!" Ashley scolded. "Not helping!" Spencer smirked.

"Sorry." Leaning in, she gave Ashley another kiss and ruffled her hair. "We're making cookies, right?"

"Cookies," Ashley agreed. "Right."

Christmas dinner was a hearty and riotous affair, with more extended family than Ashley had ever conceived of all crammed into the old farmhouse, cousins and uncles and aunts and in-laws all chortling over eggnog and wolfing down Spencer's cookies (Ashley fell in love with her all over again, watching her beam at her family's praises that they had come out "just as good as Nana's"). She also thought it was pretty adorable the way Spencer's grandfather questioned Chelsea and Madison about their future plans and career prospects.

"And what about you, young lady?" He rounded on Ashley, a little gruffly, though not unkindly. "What are you studying in school?"

"Oh, I don't go to school," Ashley said, swallowing a mouthful of eggnog hastily. "I'm just concentrating on my music right now. You know, playing at clubs around LA, trying to get a record deal." She felt Spencer's hand squeeze hers under the table.

"Music!" The old man barked, raising one eyebrow skeptically. "Going to be a rock star, are you? Is that any way to support my granddaughter?" Spencer choked on her cider, and Ashley had to pound her on the back.

"Um, actually, sir," Ashley swallowed, "I inherited some money, a lot of money really, when my father died. It's mostly invested now, but we've got plenty to live on, and our loft is all paid for, so...Spence and I don't really have to worry about money." It was a bit surreal, the total silence that fell over their immediate part of the table; the chortling and animated conversation further down continued uninterrupted. Ashley and Spencer both looked like they might faint any moment.

"Sir?" Glen sneered, mocking Ashley with a very un-manly giggle. They all heard a loud stamping noise as Glen yelped in surprise and pain, turning to look disbelievingly at Madison, who was glaring at him.

"Well then," their grandfather continued, oblivious to the foot-stamping sideshow, "that's more like it. I don't want my Spencer relying on those record-label yahoos for her future security." He beamed at his granddaughter, patting her cheek as his wife had done in the kitchen.

"You know, Grandpa Jack," Spencer said slowly, still with a slightly dazed look, as if she couldn't quite believe that she was having this conversation, "I'm going to have a career, too. I don't plan on letting Ashley support me forever."

"Of course, darling, of course," he waved her off airily. "You girls today can do anything you set your minds to, the world is your oyster! Still," he looked over and gave Ashley a very small wink, "it doesn't hurt to have a little cushion, does it?" Ashley was staring back at him in total disbelief, her mouth hanging open. Spencer took her hand and pulled it up onto the table, squeezing hard, which broke Ashley out of her momentary daze.

"No," Spencer said quietly, her eyes staring into Ashley's as she answered her grandfather's question. "It doesn't hurt."


	3. Out of the Blue

Back from hiatus!

Hey everybody, I am so very sorry to have left this story up in the air for so long...real life just got REALLY busy there for a while, NYC style. I even got a real writing gig for a lesbian arts & culture magazine, yay me! I'm hoping they'll let me start a South of Nowhere blog when the show starts up again in February, like on the website AfterEllen (dot)com, how cool would that be? Anyway, I am ressurecting this story, and by god, I will finish it this time! Minor angst warning for this chapter, but again, happy endings prevail :) Thanks to all my loyal readers for sticking around!

--JW

Into the Morning

Chapter 3

By JewWitch

All the Usual Disclaimers Apply (if Spencer and Ashley were mine, they'd _never_ stop doin' it long enough to follow even the most tenuous of plot lines!)

Rating: R for this chapter

By the time the flight crew announced that it was time for everyone to return their seat backs and tray tables to an upright position for their initial descent into Paris, Spencer's stomach was in an advanced state of agitation. She wasn't nervous-- why should _Ashley_ make her nervous? They'd been together half their lives. But she did page a flight attendant and ask for a glass of ginger ale to calm her queasiness; greeting Ashley after two months apart with barf breath just would _not_ do. She pressed her nose to the window, watching the tiny landscape coming into view through the clouds, like a doll's world. Her stomach bounced against her diaphragm like an exuberant puppy who couldn't be made to relax. She actually started to do some Lamaze breathing, in an attempt to calm her erratic heart rate. At the same time, she thought about Ashley standing inside the airport, waiting for her, right at that very moment, with the same fluttery feeling in her stomach...and suddenly she felt perfectly calm and serene. Because she knew this was really happening-- she would get off the plane, and Ashley would be there.

Of course, Spencer's romantic vision of their airport reunion had the security-checkpoint scene edited out, and by the time Spencer actually got down to the baggage claim, where those waiting to pick up their loved ones were actually allowed to be, nearly fifteen minutes had passed since she got off the plane. It didn't take Spencer's eyes long to find her wife in the crowd; but by the time they did, Ashley's eyes were already locked on hers. She was standing no more than twenty feet away, dressed in a denim miniskirt and an old Amoeba Records t-shirt, and the same bright red streak down her shiny brown hair that Spencer had seen on Pay-Per-View two nights before. She was also holding a rose-- one single, red rose, with a red ribbon tied around the stem. The look on her face when Spencer's eyes found hers made the nervous bouncing in her stomach stand still. They stared at each other for a moment; then Spencer dropped her shoulder-bag in the middle of the floor and ran, leaping into Ashley's arms with the force of a small blond hurricane. Everything slowed down and got blurry; Spencer was aware of Ashley's hands in her hair, her familiar, intoxicating smell of orange blossoms and jasmine, her warm mouth suddenly Spencer's world.

"Oh, baby," Spencer sobbed against Ashley's lips, before surrendering completely to the teeth and tongue that were suddenly devouring her. She closed her eyes, letting her hands slip under the hem of Ashley's t-shirt, reclaiming her hips, her back, the perfect dip of her spine...

"Missed you...so much..." Ashley murmured, releasing Spencer's now-moist lips long enough to pant these words, their foreheads pressed together, so they could feel each other's hot, erratic breath on their faces.

"A'aight, ladies, I know you're happy to see each other, but I also know I'ma be gettin' an angry phone call from Grandma C. tomorrow for letting some scandalous make-out photos from Charles DeGaulle airport get published in _Us Weekly_, and honey, that is _not_ on my agenda for this week, you know?" A very large, well-muscled and extremely gay black man had strode up beside them while they were...busy...and now delivered this short speech with an exasperated smirk on his somehow cherubic face. "So let me just take y'all back to the hotel, and you can go all amazon on each other away from prying eyes and paparazzi. Word?"

"Hi Ramone," Spencer replied happily, leaning up on her tiptoes and kissing the tall bodyguard's cheek. "Thanks for taking such good care of my girl here." She raked her nails across Ashley's lower back, causing her to lean her hips into Spencer's involuntarily. They both grinned, red-cheeked.

"Girl, you know she don't make it easy either!" Ramone chortled, leaning down and giving Spencer a kiss back. "She gotta find every dive-y little gay bar in every city! But she never even look at another girl like she want anything but a dance from them, you know." He winked, and Spencer smirked. She knew that Ashley loved her, completely and totally; she had never really lost much sleep over worries of cheating, despite how easy it would obviously be for Ashley to screw around when she was on tour. Still, it was nice to have someone else confirm this for her, someone she knew wouldn't lie.

"Why should I look at any other girl, when I'm already married to the most beautiful woman on the planet?" Ashley asked with a goofy grin. "Come on Spence, let's get your bags and go back to the hotel...so I can go all _amazon_ on you." Spencer happily grabbed her hand, and followed her to the exit.

They didn't quite make it to the hotel, but they did at least manage to keep their hands more or less to themselves outside the airport, until they made it into the limo-- which, after all, had tinted windows. Once they were in the back seat together, with Ramone up front (behind more tinted windows) with the driver, Ashley started kissing Spencer's throat and playing with her bellybutton.

"Oh, God, you feel so good," she murmured against Spencer's neck, nuzzling into her pulse point. Spencer's only reply was a moan of longing, as her hands gripped Ashley's long hair and pulled her head up for another deep kiss. Their limbs tangled together, until Spencer managed to pin Ashley down against the leather seats and slip a hand up her short skirt. Ashley gasped, her body surging up against Spencer's, her dark eyes almost black with desire.

"I love you, Ash...I love you so much," Spencer whispered in Ashley's ear, before biting it. Ashley shrieked.

"Love you," she whimpered back, opening her legs as wide as the backseat permitted and digging her nails into Spencer's back.

By the time the car came to a complete stop and the engine cut out, letting Spencer and Ashley know they'd arrived at the hotel, they were both sitting up and fully clothed, and more or less presentable. This turned out to be a good thing because, as Ramone had predicted, there were quite a few reporters with quite a lot of camera equipment waiting for them outside the hotel's front door, hoping to catch a glimpse of rocker princess Ashley Davies and her beautiful wife. They helped each other fix their hair and makeup in the car before stepping out, huge smiles (which they didn't have to fake) plastered to their faces as they waved at the cameras, making a beeline for the safety of the hotel lobby. Ashley slipped her hand into Spencer's, glancing back at her with a goofy grin.

It happened in an instant. One moment Spencer was walking to the hotel, her hand in Ashley's, with the noise and flashing of cameras around them; then suddenly she was yanked off her feet. The world turned upside down, and it was as if someone had reached out and shut off the sound. It was the briefest of moments; then an ear-splitting crash brought the sound levels back up. There was screaming. Spencer realized vaguely that she was lying flat on her back on the sidewalk, though she didn't remember falling.

"Spence, are you okay? ...Spencer!" Ashley was kneeling beside her, pale and terrified, her hands running over Spencer's body in search of injury.

"I'm okay," she said quickly, sitting up too fast. "Whoa...head rush...what's going on? What happened?" Even as she asked, Spencer looked up and saw what had happened: where moments ago she and Ashley had been standing, a car had skidded off the road and smashed head-on into a lamp post. She stared at the wrecked car, feeling a creeping numbness stealing over her body. It was Ramone's large hand that had pulled her back, out of the car's path...Ashley too...her brain felt unhinged, as her thoughts began to swim, disconnected, bouncing off each other at random. She saw the man climbing out of the car, a bloody cut on his forehead, obviously drunk and feeling no pain as he began to shout at Ramone, who didn't bother shouting back but simply grabbed the guy and forced him to the ground.

"Spence, are you sure you're okay? You're shaking..." They were still sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, one of Ashley's legs pressed up against the small of Spencer's back, and a hand gently tracing the length of her spine. Spencer opened her mouth to say she was fine; then she burst into tears. Ashley's arms were immediately around her, holding her fiercely, whispering words of love and assurance in her ear.

"It's okay, it's okay...shhhh...we're okay, baby, I got you..." Spencer pressed her face into Ashley's shoulder, not caring that she was basically wiping her nose on her wife's shirt. She couldn't stop the tears, or the torrent of images suddenly invading her mind, dragging her back to a different crash, a different ending, when Ashley hadn't been there to tell her that everything was okay...when everything was almost so very monumentally _not_ okay.

"I'm sorry," Spencer sniffed when she finally got her breath back, looking up at Ashley with puffy red eyes.

"You don't have to be sorry, baby," Ashley murmured, wiping Spencer's tears away with her thumb.

"It just reminded me of..."

"I know, I know...but it's okay. Nobody got hurt, we're all fine. I'm fine. See?" Ashley took Spencer's hand and pressed it over her own heart. The strong, steady pounding under her palm immediately calmed the erratic throbbing in Spencer's chest, and she sighed and closed her eyes, leaning against Ashley as the adrenalin that had just shot through her began to drain away. And as much as she didn't want to, she couldn't help remembering an all too similar day, almost three years before; when everything had started out so perfect, just like today...

It was the day after Spencer defended her PhD dissertation, which in graduate school-speak meant she was more or less home-free, soon to be "Dr. Carlin-Davies." She'd been a basket case for months leading up to it, staying up late into the night at the UCLA library while Ashley and four-year-old Jackson fended for themselves at home. And every time she'd felt too guilty to live with herself, and decided it wasn't worth it-- every time she'd called Ashley and proclaimed she was dropping out of school, and didn't want to be a psychologist anyway-- Ashley had lovingly but firmly refused to accept Spencer's resignation. There was no doubt in Spencer's mind that she would never have made it through graduate school without Ashley's constant, unfailing support. And now it was over, and they were going away for the weekend to celebrate, just the two of them.

"Jacksie, remember that Aunty Madison is picking you and Ana up from school today, and you're going home with them. Okay?"

"I _know_, Mama!" Jackson rolled his eyes over his Cheerios. "I already told you, me and Ana are building the world's tallest leggo tower this weekend, and Uncle Glen's gonna take a picture, and send it to the Guinness Book of Records, so we'll be famous!" The grin on his face as he made this pronouncement was pure Ashley, innocent and devious at the same time, and wholly determined to succeed. His large brown eyes shone merrily.

"Okay, monkey boy," Spencer smirked, sitting down at the table next to her son with a large cup of coffee and kissing the top of his head. "Just remember to be good for Uncle Glen and Aunty Mad, okay? I don't want to come home and hear any stories about you and Ana staying up all night and sneaking into the kitchen at one o'clock in the morning for chocolate."

"Jeez, that was _one_ time," Jackson moaned, flinging himself backward in his chair and looking exasperated and put-upon.

"Okay kids, the rock 'n roll railroad is leaving in thirty seconds! All passengers front and center!" Ashley bounced into the kitchen and went straight for the coffee pot, filling her travel mug to the brim and then taking a sip so she could close it. Jackson leapt up from his chair, proclaiming that he just needed _one_ thing from his room for show and tell, and racing out of the kitchen. Ashley and Spencer caught each other's eye across the table and smirked. Then Ashley put her cup down on the counter, and crossed the room to where Spencer sat, pulled out her chair, and sat in her lap, straddling her.

"Good morning, Dr. Carlin-Davies," Ashley purred, holding Spencer's face between her hands and kissing her for all she was worth.

"Mmm, don't jinx me," Spencer mumbled against Ashley's lips, grinning hugely. "It's not official yet, you know."

"Well it's as good as." Ashley ran her fingers through Spencer's hair, with an enormous grin to match Spencer's. "You've worked so hard for this, and I am so proud of you, baby. I'm gonna take Jack to school now...and you're gonna go make sure our suitcase is all packed...and when I get home we're gonna hop on a plane to Pebble Beach...where I will spend the next three days worshipping your body." They kissed again, both of their hands beginning to wander.

"Mommy! I'm ready to go! No more kissing!" Jackson stamped his foot impatiently in the doorway, and Ashley pulled away from Spencer's lips, chuckling.

"Like I said," she winked, reaching out to fix Spencer's smudged lipstick with her thumb. "As soon as I get home."

"So go take the kid to school, already," Spencer grinned. With a final round of goodbye kisses, Ashley and Jackson were out the door, and Spencer went back upstairs to double-check that she hadn't forgotten to pack anything. The sun was pouring in through the wide bay windows, and Spencer was in such a good mood, she flipped on the stereo system and cranked it up, dancing around the bedroom and singing to herself like a goofy teenager while she made the bed and straightened up. It wasn't until the CD ended that Spencer realized almost 45 minutes had gone by. Where was Ashley, already? It wasn't as if they had to worry about missing the plane, since Ashley had chartered a private jet for them, but still, Spencer knew it was only a 20-minute round trip to her son's school, and she also knew that Ashley was as eager to get going on their vacation as she was. _She's probably off somewhere getting me flowers or chocolate...or both_, Spencer thought with a smirk. She flopped down on the couch and switched on the news, when the phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she smiled and picked up.

"Hey Dad, you just caught me...we're leaving for Pebble Beach as soon as Ash gets home," she said lightly, sprawled across the couch with one foot hanging over the arm.

"Honey, there's been an accident." Her father's voice was grave and stoic, a tone that had long ago coded itself into her brain as PANIC. "Glen and Madison are on their way to pick you up, and I'll meet you at the hospital, okay?"

"Oh, god," Spencer whispered, sitting up on the couch with a dizzying rush of blood to the head. "Is it Mom?"

"No, honey, it's not Mom...it's Ashley."

"What? No," Spencer shook her head, calmly disbelieving. "Ashley's dropping Jack at school, it's only ten minutes away..."

"Spence, listen to me. There was an accident. Several cars were involved, and one of them was yours. Mom called me as soon as she heard from the EMT dispatch that they were bringing Ashley in, in critical condition, and that's all I know." Spencer's world sharpened suddenly. Everything was too bright, too hard. Her hands went numb.

"Oh my god...Jackson--"

"Jackson's fine, Spence, he's at school, don't worry about him. He doesn't even know anything happened."

"I have to get to the hospital," Spencer said flatly, jumping to her feet and looking wildly around for her car keys.

"Glen and Madison are coming to get you, Spence, they're on their way--"

"No, I gotta go now," Spencer mumbled, shaking her head though there was no one there to see it. She turned in a circle on the spot, eyes wild, forgetting for a moment what she was looking for. "I can't wait for--"

"Spencer!" The shout through the phone stopped her dead in her tracks. She could hardly count on one hand the number of times she'd ever heard her father raise his voice; she could hear both his anger and his desperation, and it froze her where she stood. "Listen to me. You are not getting behind the wheel right now, do you hear me? Unless you want to make your son an orphan, you wait for your brother." Spencer opened her mouth to argue; but as her father's words hit her-- _make your son an orphan_-- something broke inside her, and she slid to the floor, wracked with sobs. That was how Glen and Madison found her a short while later, curled up in a ball on the kitchen floor in a flood of tears. They managed to get her up and into the car, Madison sitting beside her in the back seat while Glen drove, both of them reassuring her continually that everything would be fine. Madison finally managed to calm Spencer with some deep breathing exercises; it was something soothing and familiar that they had done together before, since they'd both been pregnant within a year of each other.

When they got to the hospital, Spencer climbed out of the car looking considerably calmer. As she looked up at the word _Emergency _emblazoned above the entrance, however, her stomach turned inside out, and she ran to the nearest trash can, narrowly avoiding throwing up all over the floor.

"Whoa!" Glen yelped, leaping back, while Madison glared at him and hurried to Spencer's side, gathering her hair in one hand and rubbing her back until the wave of nausea passed.

"S-sorry," Spencer stuttered, looking up at her brother and sister-in-law with red eyes.

"It's okay, mija, we've all seen worse," Madison said lightly. "Ready to go in now?" Ashen-faced, Spencer nodded. Arthur was already inside, leaning across the admittance desk to talk to one of the nurses in low, agitated tones.

"Dad!" Spencer sobbed, throwing herself into his arms almost before he'd turned to face her. He tried to soothe her, but all Spencer wanted now was answers. "Where is she? What's happening? She'll be okay, won't she?"

"Your mom's in there working on her right now, Spence, they're doing everything they can. We're trying to find out more." The words _doing everything they can _struck Spencer's heart like a bolt of ice. That wasn't something people said unless...

"Spencer." Paula came out from behind the swinging doors then, her scrubs splattered with blood, pulling off her face mask. _That's Ashley's blood_, the thought raced through her mind before she could stop it. Her stomach twisted sharply again, but she took a deep breath, and managed not to lose her breakfast a second time. _Keep it together. Ashley needs you to keep it together._

"Mom, please, is she okay?"

"She's lost a lot of blood, honey, and one of her ribs punctured a lung. Our main concern right now is that she's bleeding internally somewhere, but we haven't found the source yet."

"Oh god, please don't let her die Mom, please..." Spencer didn't bother wiping away the tears that were pouring down her face. That didn't matter; nothing mattered anymore unless Ashley was okay.

"Spencer, listen to me." Paula grabbed her daughter's face with both hands, forcing her to make eye contact. "I am going to go back in there, and I am going to save her. Do you understand me? I am not going to let Ashley die." Spencer stared into her mother's eyes, a mirror of her own. She knew that there was no way any doctor could make the guarantee her mother was making; she also knew that she needed to believe it. She nodded. "I'll let you know as soon as we know anything," Paula promised, then in a flurry of aqua-green scrubs, she was gone again. After she'd gone, Spencer stood alone in the middle of the floor, lost and trembling.

"I have to cancel the plane," she whispered brokenly, staring into space.

"I'll do that, honey. You just go sit down, okay?" Her father said quietly, squeezing her shoulder briefly before going back to the admittance desk for a phone book. Spencer nodded dumbly. The patterned linoleum floor began to swim in front of her. Before she'd made it halfway to the hard plastic chairs, her stomach rebelled again, sending her running back to the nearest trash can for another round of painful retching.

"Jesus, Spencer!" Glen exclaimed, managing to look indignant. Madison gave him another withering glare.

"Querido, how about you make yourself useful for once and go get the girl a ginger ale from the machine?" Knowing better than to argue with his wife when she was giving him _the look_, Glen turned and scurried for the hall. Madison turned back to Spencer, who was leaning against the side of the trash can now, trembling and gasping for breath.

"Oh god Madison, I can't handle this. I'm only 29, I can't be a widow...I don't think I can l-live without her..."

"Girl, you gotta snap out of it. Ashley's not dead, so don't you start burying her. She's right through those doors," Madison flung her arm out, pointing to where Paula had disappeared, "And she's gonna need you at your best, okay?" Spencer gulped, and took a deep, steadying breath. "Now come sit down and breathe, dios mio!"

"'Kay," Spencer mumbled. She'd taken two steps toward Madison, when something very peculiar happened. Her sister-in-law's face seemed to be receding; everything in the long hallway was moving rapidly away from her, like a rushing river. She could see Madison's lips moving, but all she heard was a faint ringing in her ears.

"Uh-oh," Spencer mumbled. Then she passed out.

The next thing she knew, Spencer was blinking her eyes open blearily at the plain white hospital ceiling, with no idea where she was or how she got there. She still felt horribly nauseous.

"Ash?" she mumbled, quickly trying to sit up.

"Easy, Spence, take it slow." It was Kyla's voice in her ear, one warm arm wrapping around her shoulders and another hand smoothing back her mussed hair. "You gave us a scare, girl...just had to be the center of attention, huh?"

"Ky...What?" Spencer blinked, looking around from Kyla, to Madison, then over to Chelsea, who sat at the foot of her bed. "When did you guys get here?"

"While you were passed out, duh." Kyla smiled and kissed Spencer's forehead. "Your dad called; we came as soon as we heard." The sluggish floundering in her brain finally caught on something solid, causing Spencer's memory to flood back like she'd just been rebooted.

"Oh God, Ashley--"

"She's gonna be fine, Spence. Your mom came in a few minutes ago and told us they're taking her up to recovery."

"She's okay?" Spencer's voice was faint with relief, as more tears spilled from her eyes. "Are you sure? Really okay?"

"Really okay," Kyla nodded, glancing up at the other two with a broad grin, then back at Spencer. "And so are you...and so is the baby." It took Spencer a minute to catch up to what Kyla was saying; in all the terror and emotional upheaval she'd gone through in the past few hours, the fact that she and Ashley were in their third month of trying for another baby had completely flown out of her head.

"I'm...? Wait. No. Are you sure?" Spencer sniffed, wiping her eyes roughly in disbelief.

"Blood tests don't lie, mija. Is there something you need to tell us? You been getting a little sugar on the side?" Spencer gave Madison a withering glare, and Chelsea and Kyla burst out laughing.

"Yeah, Mad, I'm cheating on Ashley with a turkey baster." She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth were turning up into a defiant grin.

"So I guess Ash doesn't know yet?" Chelsea asked gently, reaching out to squeeze Spencer's leg. Spencer shook her head dumbly.

"We, we didn't...I mean I didn't..." she gulped. "We thought...more time..."

"Well now you'll have something amazing to tell her when she wakes up," Chelsea smirked, beaming at Spencer, who was still staring back in dumb disbelief, her expression more dazed than when she'd first opened her eyes.

"Does everyone know?" She asked weakly.

"Just us," Kyla assured her quickly. "And your mom of course. She didn't mean to blab, but we were all here when she got your blood tests back, and, well, we got so freaked out when we saw the look on her face...we thought you had leukemia or something. She had to tell us. You're not mad, are you?"

"Mad?" Spencer grinned dopily, her shock finally broken as she laid a hand across her flat stomach, rubbing it absently. She looked at her three sisters-in-law, Kyla, Madison and Chelsea, loving each of them immeasurably. "Uh-uh," she shook her head slowly. Then, as if thunderstruck, she squealed, "I'm having a baby!" and they all laughed and leapt onto the bed to hug her.

"Hi little one," Kyla cooed to Spencer's stomach, "I'm your auntie Kyla! Just remember that when you're at my house, you can have all the candy you want."

Once she was back on her feet, Spencer lost no time racing up to recovery, where she sat by Ashley's bed for the rest of the day. Arthur left at some point to pick up all three of his grandchildren, four-year-old Jack, five-year-old Ana and twelve-year-old Clay, and took them out mini-golfing. When Ashley's eyes finally cracked open, it was dark outside, and Spencer was fast asleep across her stomach.

"Spencer?" she mumbled sleepily. She tried to move one of her hands to touch Spencer's head, but found it tethered to an IV drip. The shift in her body weight coupled with her low murmur was enough to rouse a drowsing Spencer from her spot, sitting bolt upright in her chair with a dazed but attentive expression.

"Shh, it's okay sweet girl...I'm right here. How do you feel?" Spencer picked up Ashley's hand, and being careful not to disturb the IV, held it lightly in her own.

"Uh...I don't know...kind of sore, I think. What happened, Spence? Where are we?"

"We're in the hospital, baby. You got in a car accident. Scared the shit out of me. But you're okay now...everything's okay..." Spencer leaned down and left a trail of kisses up Ashley's arm, feeling Ashley's other hand moving lightly through her hair as she went. Little though she wanted to, she felt the sting of tears welling up inside her again, and soon Ashley felt their cool drip on her arm.

"Hey," Ashley murmured, tilting Spencer's chin up in her hand with a hazy but reassuring smile. She knew better than to tell Spencer not to cry, even after a full day of unconsciousness and general anesthesia. "It's okay now, baby. I'm so sorry I scared you...and ruined our vacation..."

"No, Ash, don't," Spencer shook her head, hastily wiping her eyes and nose. "It's not your fault, any of it. You're okay, and that's all I care about. Especially now that we're gonna have one more in our family." Spencer grinned shyly as she said this, looking down at their entwined hands on the blankets.

"What...? Spence, are you--?" Spencer looked up and nodded. Oblivious to her aching body, Ashley grabbed Spencer's face between her hands and pulled her half onto the bed, kissing her with everything she had.

"Surprise," Spencer mumbled against Ashley's lips. Ashley just laughed and laughed.

Back on the sidewalk in Paris, both of them were still sitting dazedly on the ground, lost in the memory of terror and elation as the aftermath of the almost-crash played out around them. Spencer's cheeks were smudged with tear tracks, her eyes red and puffy.

"But that ended up being a good day, Spence...that was the day we found out we were getting Ella." Spencer nodded, not quite able to speak. Ashley poked her lightly in the stomach. "There isn't anything you have to tell me now, is there...?" Finally Spencer snickered, raising her head from Ashley's shoulder.

"No, goof," she smirked, her voice hoarse from crying. "But now that you mention it, I always thought three kids was the perfect number..." Ashley beamed.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Spencer nodded, leaning back into Ashley's strong frame and capturing her warm lips.

"Ready for another year without a cocktail, are you?" Ashley teased, her hand slipping up under Spencer's shirt to playfully stroke her stomach.

"Who said I wanted to get pregnant again?" Spencer teased back, kissing Ashley's jaw line and nibbling her earlobe. "You're not the only one who knows how to use a turkey baster, you know." Ashley's snort of incredulity was caught up short as Spencer's tongue found it's favorite spot behind her ear.

"Ohhhh...no fair...using your secret weapon..." Ashley moaned, her body arching up under Spencer's attentions.

"I just don't want you to miss out on something incredible, Ash...something I know you want to experience...let me take care of you for a while, huh? I promise it'll be amazing..." Spencer continued to tease Ashley with her tongue and nimble fingertips as she spoke softly to her, hands running all over her body. Ashley sighed in abject pleasure.

"Will you get up in the middle of the night to get me triple-chocolate-chunk ice cream?" She asked petulantly, giggling as Spencer's teeth grazed her throat.

"With whipped cream and a cherry," Spencer replied silkily, kissing the spot her teeth had just left. "Then I'll lick them off you."

"Hmm," Ashley sighed, her body supremely relaxed though they were still sprawled on the cold concrete, sirens and shouting everywhere around them. "I dunno, Spence, the whole daddy thing isn't as easy as you think...maybe we should go upstairs and practice?" There was a devilish gleam in Ashley's eyes as she stood and offered Spencer her hand.

"Definitely."


	4. wait, you were SERIOUS?

Into the Morning

Chapter 4

By JewWitch

All the usual disclaimers apply

Rating: M

"Why can't you just accept me for who I am, Spence? You of all people." Ashley stood stiffly in the middle of the hotel room with her arms folded across her chest, her entire posture screaming to Spencer that she didn't want to talk about this.

"So wanting you to face your fears means not accepting you for who you are? I wish I'd known that the night before you got your first Grammy, when you were hyperventilating in the bathroom...I would've just let you go right on 'being yourself' until you passed out." Spencer cocked her head defiantly, hands on her hips. Ashley rolled her eyes and threw herself down on the bed with an adolescent growl of frustration.

"Who the fuck are you to tell me what I'm afraid of, huh? Every time I don't want to do something, it has to be because I'm too scared? Just because you've got a goddam PhD, it doesn't make you fucking psychic," she snarled, not looking at Spencer as she pulled a pillow from under the covers and hugged it to her chest. Eyes focused firmly on her knees, Ashley felt-- but didn't see-- Spencer sitting on the bed beside her, two warm hands that knew her body by heart slipping into her hair, gently tilting her face up. She kept her eyes downcast, refusing to meet the clear blue gaze that she knew was waiting to consume her.

"Hey," Spencer prodded, until finally Ashley gave in and raised her eyes, to find Spencer smiling gently, her look a little too understanding. "I'm sorry. You have every right to decide for yourself what's important to you; of course you do. All I'm saying is, I think you _do_ want this, Ash...I think you've always wanted this, ever since you got pregnant in the 10th grade. I remember the look in your eyes when you first told me about it...how lost you looked...you were heartbroken, baby. And maybe now you're scared of that happening again-- that you might have another miscarriage?" Spencer's thumbs were stroking Ashley's temples, her touch so tender and her voice so gentle that finally Ashley couldn't stop herself from letting her guard down. Her scowl melted into a lost, faraway gaze as fat tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks. Looking back up at Spencer through the blur, her eyes asked for what her voice couldn't quite manage, and instantly Spencer's arms were wrapped around her, holding her safe and whole in a way that no one and nothing else could ever imitate.

"It's not just that, Spence," Ashley sobbed, pulling away to wipe angrily at her eyes with a sniff. "What if I pass on all my fucked-up genes to our kid? You really want to deal with another little me, huh? W-what if it's a complete psycho? What if all the drugs I've done make it come out with three heads? What then?" Ashley took a deep breath, her tears easing somewhat now that she'd finally spoken her worst fears out loud. Spencer was still smiling, and, leaning in close, began kissing Ashley very lightly all over her face.

"What you're feeling is so completely and totally normal, baby," Spencer murmured, her lips grazing Ashley's ear now. "I don't think there's ever been a pregnant woman in the history of the world who didn't have any of those fears...but that's exactly what makes you a good mom. Because you're always trying to be better. Isn't that what you told me when I was pregnant with Jack?" Ashley sighed and closed her eyes, curling up in Spencer's arms and breathing in the warm, clean scent of her coconut shampoo.

"Yeah," she mumbled quietly, feeling one of Spencer's hands running lightly through her hair, instantly calming her.

"And I'd say we did pretty good, huh?" Spencer teased.

"Better than pretty good," Ashley corrected her, rolling over to look Spencer in the eyes as she made her next pronouncement. "Amazing...unbelievable." Closing the small distance between their faces, they both leaned into each other, sharing a kiss full of devotion that left them both hungry for more. Hands slipped into familiar teasing spots, and Ashley felt Spencer's hot breath flutter against her throat when nimble fingers grazed her bellybutton. Smirking, Ashley pressed her advantage, her other hand darting down to unsnap Spencer's cutoffs, fingers sweeping teasingly over the soft, smooth skin of her stomach until she moaned, and pressed into Ashley just a little more.

"Ash..." Spencer's whimper was swallowed into a deep, dizzying kiss, as Ashley nudged her onto her back, her hand straying further south, but still teasing. Spencer squirmed under her, arching up with a hard breath. Looking down into the sea blue gaze below her, wide open and spilling with raw, aching need, Ashley felt a surge of love and desire shoot through her body, like a gas burner suddenly cranked all the way up.

"Oh, God, Spence...I love you..." Lost to words, Spencer just sobbed, as Ashley took her over the brink, and up into the clouds. It was a long time before either of them began drifting back down to earth.

The afternoon sun stretched lazily across their hotel room, intensifying to a bright egg-yolk yellow before fading into a murky dusk of pale periwinkle. Spencer and Ashley eventually wore each other out, both drifting into sleep with hazy, fleeting thoughts of babies...drowsy feelings and memories mixed with warm, solid reassurance of skin on skin. Both, before they finally succumbed to sleep, remembering the same day nearly eight years ago, on a Christmas Eve morning in Ohio...

"Snow!" Ashley was unceremoniously jostled awake by Spencer's shriek of delight, and her bouncing leap out of bed the moment her eyes opened, taking in the sight of the fat flakes falling thick and fast outside their window.

"Ughhh," Ashley groaned, rolling over and pulling her pillow over her head, refusing to be roused.

"C'mon, Ash, let's go out before it stops! We can take Little Clay down to Gooseneck hill and go sledding."

"Bite me," Ashley mumbled sleepily from behind the pillow. "Ouch!"

Ashley sprang up, the pillow flying off the bed. Spencer was grinning devilishly. Sitting up and blinking, Ashley rubbed the soft skin of her hip, now bearing the light imprint of Spencer's teeth marks. "I can't believe you fucking bit me." Spencer laughed and clapped a hand over her mouth, looking completely unabashed. Ashley held her scowl a second longer; then a smirk crept onto her face.

"Come on, baby, come play in the snow with me," Spencer begged, cocking her head so her sun-kissed blond hair fell in a sheet over her shoulder. Ashley rolled her eyes. _I am so whipped_, the 24-year-old thought cheerfully.

They spent the morning immersed in a long and very competitive snowball fight with Glen, Little Clay, Madison, Chelsea, and Kyla, who had finally given in that year and accepted the invitation to come along. Glen and Little Clay played as a team, with Glen's battle cry of "get the girls!" bringing back plenty of childhood memories for Spencer, who smirked fondly over at the snow-crusted form of her brother, running full-out through the knee-deep snow with six-year-old Clay perched happily squealing on his back.

Less than a second later, she paid for her hallmark moment when a snowball hit her in the ear. Gasping, Spencer looked over to see a rosy-cheeked Madison laughing gleefully. She realized this might be the first time she'd seen Madison without her infant daughter-- Spencer's niece-- in her arms since the day Ana was born, just three months ago. Silently she thanked her parents, who were cooing over their newest grandchild up at the house, and grinned fiendishly back at her sister-in-law.

"You are so gonna pay for that!" Spencer shrieked, tearing off after Madison like they were twelve. When they had all clobbered each other (and allowed Clay to clobber them) into exhaustion, they called a truce; Clay immediately began begging his mother to build a snowman with him, and Kyla joined them, while Glen marched off to the house for a hat, scarf and carrot nose. _And_ Chelsea's camera. Spencer flopped backwards into the snow with a satisfying _whoomph_, gazing up at her own breath for a few moments before spreading her arms and legs in wide arcs around her.

"Spence, what the hell are you doing? You're gonna catch pneumonia!" Ashley looked so horrified watching her lay in the snow, Spencer almost wanted to laugh.

"I don't think anyone's ever gotten pneumonia from making a snow angel, Ash...c'mon, you should try it."

"Uh-uh, no way, I'm already freezing."

"You are such a California girl," Spencer smirked up at her. Ashley's eyebrows shot up, as she crossed her arms and smirked back down. _Whoomph_. Ashley threw herself into the snow next to Spencer, imitating her sweeping arm and leg movements through the powdery mess around them.

"There. I made a snow angel," she said grudgingly. "Now my nose is running and my head is cold, can we go inside, please? Your nana's probably making hot cocoa by now." Ashley looked pouty and disconsolate, and Spencer finally laughed.

"Oh my god, you are _such_ a big baby," she snickered, rolling off of her own snow angel and squarely onto Ashley's, kissing her soundly as her snowy hair fell around both of them. "Warming up?" She murmured rakishly.

"Mm-hmm," Ashley purred, shifting under Spencer's weight with a sly grin. "But I still wanna go in."

"Okay, okay," Spencer laughed, getting up and pulling Ashley after her, dusting each other off so a glittery cloud of snow temporarily filled the air. They waved over at the others, still hard at work on the larger-than-life snowman, as they turned and started back to the house; Spencer's eyes lingered on little Clay's delighted expression as Glen set their grandfather's bowler hat on the snowman's head.

"Ash?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's have a baby."


	5. The Best Place for a Serious Talk

**Into The Morning**

**Chapter 5**

**By JewWitch**

**All the Usual Disclaimers Apply**

**Rated R**

Ashley didn't know what to say. Words simply refused her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times like a fish out of water, with Spencer staring at her expectantly.

"Ash? Please say something."

"Uh...uhm..."

"It's nice to see that you've given this topic as much thought as I have," Spencer muttered sarcastically, disappointment etched all over her face as she turn and started walking briskly back to the house.

"Spence, wait a sec!" Ashley cried, her tongue untying, finally, as she ran through the snow toward her wife's rapidly retreating form. She caught up with her halfway across the field, panting, and grabbed her arm. "Wait, dammit!"

"What?" Spencer demanded, arms folded stiffly in her puffy winter parka.

"You gotta give me a chance to process this, geez!" Ashley panted, her breath coming out in steamy clouds. "Just because I didn't think we wanted-- I mean, not so soon-- it doesn't mean we can't talk about it," she gulped, reaching for Spencer's hand and squeezing her gloved fingers. Spencer looked down at her feet, then back up at Ashley almost shyly.

"Okay," she agreed quietly. "Let's talk."

They walked silently back to the house, shedding coats, hats, scarves and gloves in a damp pile by the door before trailing the sounds of talk and laughter into the den, where Spencer's parents and grandparents were seated cozily around the fire, admiring baby Ana. At just three months, Glen and Madison's daughter already had a mop of dark hair on her tiny head, and skin the hue of a very light cup of coffee. She had somehow managed to get Glen's blue eyes, too, giving the baby an indistinctly exotic look that was often commented on-- Ashley and Spencer had both been surprised when Madison flatly refused a few very serious offers from child modeling agencies on her baby daughter's behalf.

"Girls, you look frozen," Paula said with an unusually motherly warmth in her eyes. "Go upstairs this instant and get in a hot shower, before you both collapse from hypothermia." Ashley and Spencer blinked at her. If their faces hadn't been numb with cold, they would've been blushing.

"You know what Mom, I think having a new baby in the house is making you goofy."

"Yes, well you know what to do to keep me that way, then, don't you?" She winked at them-- Paula actually winked-- and Ashley snorted with laughter, pressing her knuckles into her mouth. "Scoot!" Grabbing a dumbstruck Spencer's hand, Ashley quickly pulled her from the room and up the stairs.

"Did my mom just--?"

"Tell us to get busy? Yeah, I think she did."

"She _does_ know she's not getting any more grandkids this way, doesn't she? I mean, she _is_ a doctor."

"Hmm, yeah. I'd hate to think we have to sit her down and give her the queer birds-and-bees talk..."

"God no. I am_ not_ talking to my mother about turkey basters!" Ashley snickered, and pulled Spencer's sweater up over her head. Spencer raised her arms without being asked, then leaned into Ashley and began unbuttoning her shirt. Ashley groped behind her for the bathroom door, closing and locking it with a satisfying _click. _

"Baby, you're freezing!" Spencer crooned, trailing her fingertips over Ashley's bare shoulders and arms once she'd gotten her shirt off. "I'm sorry I made you stay out in the snow so long..."

"It's okay, Spence. It's not like we get to spend a lot of time up here, and I know how much it means to you. And you're freezing, too," she added, tracing her fingers over Spencer's face. "Your lips are blue!"

"Hmm, you better warm them up then..." Grinning, Ashley leaned in and claimed the cold lips with her own, winding her arms around Spencer's waist. Spencer yelped and jumped back. "Your hands are cold," she explained sheepishly.

"C'mon, baby, let's warm up for real," Ashley giggled, leaning over and turning on the shower to a hot, steamy blast. When she'd gotten the temperature just right, they both hopped in, sighing in exquisite pleasure.

"See, if you don't go out in the snow, you'll never know how good it feels to get warm again afterwards," Spencer sighed happily, closing her eyes and tilting her head back into the jets of steamy water. With her throat bared so deliciously, Ashley couldn't help leaning in to nibble on the damp, sweet skin below her ear. Spencer wrapped her fingers into Ashley's wet hair and kissed her, their bodies slipping together in a lazy, unhurried way.

"Spence?" Ashley breathed, pulling back just a little so their foreheads touched.

"Hmm?"

"Do you really think we're ready for a baby?" Spencer pulled back a little more, so she could see into Ashley's eyes, dark and haunting and, at the moment, full of doubt and fear. Spencer knew that Ashley had chosen this moment to voice her feelings because this was where she felt safest; not the shower necessarily, but in Spencer's arms, locked away from the world, with nothing between them but skin. This, Spencer knew, was the only place Ashley could stop being brave and tough, and admit she was scared about something. She tucked a wet strand of hair back, and smiled.

"Yeah, Ash, I do. When my mom was our age, she'd already had both me _and_ Glen. And we've got way more money than they ever had already. What's stopping us?"

"Okay, you are not _even_ using Paula as your argument for why this is a good idea."

"Glen and Madison are doing great with Ana."

"Glen and Madison? You want _Glen and Madison _to be our role models now?!"

"And Chelsea's doing great with Little Clay."

"That's because she's got us there all the time!"

"Exactly," Spencer rolled her eyes, looking simultaneously smug and exasperated. "We've been helping take care of him since he was born. We're more prepared than most people will ever be," she said serenely.

"We've only been married two years," Ashley argued stubbornly. "Don't you think we need more time, like, for us? To make our relationship stronger?"

"We've been together since the goddam eleventh grade, Ash! That's _eight_ years, and I think we've already proven how strong our relationship is." Ashley sighed and shook her head, casting her eyes down at the water swirling in the drain.

"Spence...you know I want to make you happy more than anything in the world...you know that, right?" She looked back up then urgently. Spencer nodded, not speaking. "But I'm really, really scared I'm not ready to be a mom. I still feel like a kid, you know? And I don't ever want to mess a kid up the way my parents messed me up," she said firmly, her voice quivering with emotion.

"You won't, baby," Spencer murmured, reaching out and holding Ashley's face with both hands, and kissing her lightly. "We'll mess ours up in a totally different way." Ashley laughed, rolling her eyes before she kissed Spencer back.

"I still put chocolate syrup on my oatmeal," she mumbled, her hands moving through the steamy water cascading down Spencer's back. "And you can't even return library books on time..."

"We can do it, Ash," Spencer breathed, leaning into Ashley and pressing her up against the tiled wall. "We can. It's not about being on time; it's not about passing tests or being more grown up. It's just about love. Do you love me?"

"Oh, God, baby, you know I do. More than anything in this world."

"Then trust me." They stared into each other's eyes for a long, silent moment. Then Ashley nodded, a tiny grin creeping onto her face.

"I do," she said simply. Spencer beamed, and Ashley leaned forward and kissed her hard, rolling over so it was Spencer pinned to the shower wall instead of her. Giggling, their arms and legs twined together, they both surrendered themselves completely. It was several hours before there was any hot water in the house again.


	6. Paris Je T'aime

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 6**

**By JewWitch**

**Ashley and Spencer Not Mine. Obviously.**

**Rated R**

**Note: The educational filmmakers Ashley talks about at the end of this chappy are real! If you know a kid or a school who could use some diversity education, check them out at www(dot)womedia(dot)org.**

Back in the hotel in Paris, Ashley woke up in the dusky pink of twilight, groggy and warm with Spencer wrapped around her. She sighed contentedly, shifting and stretching with a yawn, her eyes finally falling on the peacefully sleeping figure Spencer made beside her. The very last golden rays of sunset were streaming in through the window, kissing her honey-blond hair, and Ashley just lay there staring at her for a while, smiling sleepily and breathing in Spencer's sweet scent. It was funny the things she savored, after months on the road away from her family. The things she yearned for with an almost physical ache, like the chance to bury her face in the back of Spencer's neck, smelling her apple shampoo and feeling the same _zing-zang-zoom _in her stomach that she'd felt since she was sixteen, touching this incredible girl for the first time. It was a feeling that no one else had ever been able to pull out of her; only Spencer. She didn't even have to try. She could do it in her sleep!

Ashley chuckled, amused with herself, and snuggled a little closer, kissing the back of Spencer's neck and twining one arm around her stomach, lazily stroking smooth circles around her bellybutton. Spencer sighed, shifted a little. Ashley grinned. Then Spencer shifted again, and coughed, her breath sharpening. Ashley slipped her hand around and rubbed Spencer's back, lightly so as not to wake her, and kissed her shoulder. She'd woken up a couple of times already to the sound of Spencer coughing, and she didn't like it one bit. She kissed a slow, teasing trail down the warm skin in front of her.

"Hmmm..." Spencer mumbled, and Ashley felt her toes stretch.

"Hey sleepyhead," she murmured back, as Spencer rolled over and smiled at her with a drowsy innocence that made Ashley's heart skip a beat. Returning the grin with interest, Ashley leaned in and captured the warm lips so close to her own.

"You're not a dream," Spencer yawned, reaching out and slowly tracing her fingers over Ashley's face.

"Nope." Ashley leaned into the hand on her cheek, then turned and kissed Spencer's palm.

"For a minute I forgot...thought I was just dreaming you." Ashley leaned in and kissed her, slowly and thoroughly. "Hmmm...dreamy," Spencer murmured, still not completely awake. Ashley snickered.

"You are so fucking cute sometimes, I could die." She smoothed Spencer's hair back, running her fingers through the long blond locks. "Is your asthma bothering you, baby?"

"Uh-uh," Spencer yawned again, frowning and rubbing her eyes. "Why?"

"You were coughing in your sleep a little...are you sure you're okay?" She pressed her hand to Spencer's chest, just below her collarbone. "Did you remember to take your meds this morning on the plane?"

"Yes, Dr. Ashley," Spencer smirked, resting her hand over Ashley's and giving it a squeeze. "I'm fine, I promise. It's probably just from the stress...from, you know, almost being roadkill."

"You had to remind me," Ashley groaned, rolling her eyes. Looking up at the darkening windows, she realized night was falling. "Hey, it's getting late. Should we get some dinner?"

"Order room service," Spencer grinned deviously, snaking one hand out and tracing random patterns over Ashley's body under the blankets. "I'm not ready to stop being naked yet."

"Yes ma'am," Ashley grinned happily, sitting up and reaching for the phone. Spencer coughed again.

"Okay, change of plans," Ashley said firmly, getting out of bed and padding naked across the room to where Spencer's bags lay. Kneeling down in the thick carpet, she rustled around until she found what she was looking for; then she came back with her hand outstretched, holding Spencer's inhaler and giving her a stern look.

"Ash, I told you I'm fine. That's for emergencies, remember?"

"What about emergency _prevention? _Isn't that generally preferable?"

"You're being silly," Spencer shook her head, trying not to smile at her wife's serious expression-- the same one she gave the kids when they wouldn't put on their pajamas or brush their teeth. "But okay, if it will make you feel better." Privately amused by the fact that _she_ was taking the medicine so _Ashley_ could feel better, Spencer shrugged and took the inhaler.

"Thank you," Ashley smiled and kissed Spencer's cheek, crawling back into bed beside her. "Now what should we order? Something incredibly indulgent and European."

"Hmm, that shouldn't be hard," Spencer grinned. While she was perusing the hotel's menu, Ashley scampered out of bed and came back with a bottle of champagne, chilled from the mini-fridge, and two tall flutes. "Oh, yay," Spencer grinned goofily, taking the glasses so Ashley could pour.

"Well, we're never gonna have another tenth anniversary, are we?" With her eyes on the champagne she was pouring, Ashley couldn't see Spencer's expression.

"Guess not," Spencer agreed quietly, her smile from moments ago shifting into something more reflective. She held up her glass. "To us."

"To our family," Ashley chimed in, and they both drank.

"Yum," Spencer breathed, closing her eyes. "Don't tell me how much this bottle cost, okay? I don't even wanna know."

"You're right, you don't," Ashley agreed, taking another sip. "It was totally worth it, though. Especially now that I know it'll be the last drink I'll probably get to have for a year."

"Huh?" Spencer blinked stupidly, sure that Ashley couldn't mean what she thought she meant.

"Well, c'mon Spence, if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it right. You didn't think I was gonna go all Britney on you, did you? I don't want our kid to be born with webbed feet or something..." Ashley yelped when Spencer jumped on her, pushing her back into the pillows and kissing her for all she was worth.

"I love you," Spencer breathed into Ashley's mouth.

"Mmm...I kinda had a feeling," Ashley smirked.

"I can't wait to tell everyone..."

"Spencer. You're not gonna tell your family till we know for sure, are you? I'm already scarred for life from Paula's fertility tips the last time around..."

"Well it helped with Jack and Elly, didn't it?"

"Spence, women have been getting pregnant since the dawn of time _without_ home ovulation kits."

"How did the human race ever survive?" Spencer teased, wrapping her arms around Ashley's bare shoulders and kissing the exasperated expression from her face. "I won't say anything until you're pregnant, okay?" She beamed, and her blue eyes filled with happy tears. "I am gonna take such good care of you, baby..."

"Damn straight," Ashley smirked, eyes shining merrily. "After all the foot rubs and the 3am chocolate sundaes I got you when you were pregnant, you better believe I'm expecting the royal treatment and then some."

"Your wish is my command, Princess Ashley," Spencer bowed down on the bed.

"Get up, goofball," Ashley laughed, pulling on Spencer's arm. "I'm hungry. Let's order something...like pastries and chocolate covered strawberries."

"Um, how about some actual dinner first? You know, something with actual nutritional content?" Ashley looked outraged.

"Spence, it's our anniversary! We can pamper ourselves a little if we want."

"Sure we can, baby, but not till after we get some healthy food in your tummy. Babies need plenty of vitamins, remember?" She cocked her head and tucked a long brown curl back behind Ashley's ear.

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be?"

"Damn straight," Spencer smirked, throwing Ashley's line back at her. "After all the spinach you made me eat when I was pregnant, you better believe you're not getting pastries for dinner, missy."

"But I'm not even pregnant yet!" Ashley whined indignantly, crossing her arms with a pout.

"Oh, okay, let's refresh our memories a little..._how_ long before I got pregnant with Jack was I taking prenatal vitamins?"

"Three months," Ashley groaned, her pout deepening.

"And _who_ was it who said I needed more iron before we even started trying?"

"That would be me, the big bad spinach monster," Ashley sighed, rolling her eyes. "Okay, okay, we won't have chocolate éclairs for dinner, are you happy?"

"Yup." Spencer smirked, crawled on top of Ashley, and kissed her thoroughly. "Are you?" Ashley blinked, looking up speculatively at Spencer's playful expression, blue eyes shining with excitement.

"Yeah." She reached up and pulled Spencer back down on top of her, and into another long, deep kiss.

"Hmmm," Spencer sighed contentedly. "Good, now let's get some food in here, before we both shrivel up from malnutrition."

"Okay, drama queen," Ashley snickered, sitting up and reaching for the hotel phone for the third time. "Sustenance. Non-desserty nutritional intake. Got it." Spencer laughed, and scooted over on the bed to avoid distracting Ashley while she was ordering. "Now let's call Chelsea, and say hi to the kids...they should be eating breakfast right about now."

"God, this whole time zone thing is a bitch. How do you keep it all straight?" Spencer wondered aloud, shaking her head.

"Well I won't have to much longer," Ashley shrugged, realizing belatedly that she wouldn't be going on tour again anytime soon once she got pregnant. "Wow...my life is about to completely change," she said matter-of-factly, blinking up at Spencer in mild shock.

"Think of it as an extended vacation...like a sabbatical."

"Oh, a vacation? Is that how it felt to you when you were throwing up every morning for three months?"

"Okay, maybe not that part." Spencer gave Ashley a lopsided smirk. "But maybe you won't have morning sickness...you never know, Ash." Ashley rolled her eyes, quite certain that a large amount of puking was in her immediate future. But she supposed that if Spencer could take it, then she could, too...and there were certainly good things to look forward to, too. As much as she teased Spencer about it, she was just as excited about telling everyone they would be having another baby.

"Remember when we first found out we were having Jack? I thought for sure your mom would be weird about it, but she really surprised me."

"Yeah...you wanna talk surprises, how about the call we got from Clay's principal?" Ashley groaned, and laughed at the amused expression on Spencer's face...

XXXXXXX

"Spence! Are you coming out of the bathroom anytime soon?" Ashley called through the locked door.

"As soon as your kid decides to stop using my stomach as a hula-hoop, then yeah," Spencer growled back. Deciding it was safest to say nothing, Ashley simply waited outside the door until Spencer emerged, looking pale and irritable with her gray fleece bathrobe wrapped snugly around her.

"I know this isn't the best time to hit you with this, baby, but I just got a call from Clay's principal..."

"Oh my god, is he okay? Wait, why is he calling _us?" _

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Ashley rolled her eyes. "C'mon, get dressed while I tell you. I think we'd better get down there."

Forty-five minutes later, Spencer and Ashley were walking nervously up the front steps of Valley View Elementary School, past the long hallway of classrooms on to the administration wing in the back of the building. The knowledge that their own child-- the one currently testing Spencer's ability to keep down anything other than a few saltines-- would be coming here in a few short years made them both anxious to make a good impression, despite their worry and confusion. They found Clay sitting on a bench outside the office, slouched over with his head hung low, in classic I'm-about-to-get-in-so-much-trouble pose.

"Clay, sweetie, are you all right? What happened?" Spencer dropped to her knees in front of her nephew, immediately examining him for signs of injury.

"Auntie Spencer! Auntie Ashley! How come you're here?"

"Principal Dodge called us, buddy. He said you got in a fight...is that true?" Ashley knelt down next to Spencer to be on eye level with the six-year-old. She noticed a dark bruise blooming around his eye as he looked away from her, back at the floor.

"Uh-huh," he mumbled, barely audibly. Before she could ask why her usually peaceful nephew had been solving problems with his fists, the door opened and they were all escorted inside. Chelsea was already there, they were relieved to see, but her irate expression did nothing to alleviate the general confusion.

"Chels, what's going on?" Spencer asked immediately, looking from her sister-in-law to the somber principal.

"I'd like Clay to tell us," the grey-haired man said simply, hands folded over his ample stomach. Except for his grim expression, he bore a great resemblance to Santa Claus, with his white hair and beard, large nose, and rounded belly. Clay stared determinedly at the floor.

"Today was my turn for show-and-tell, so I told everybody about how I'm gonna have another baby cousin soon..." Ashley and Spencer looked at each other with identical stricken expressions, as understanding hit them like a ton of bricks. "And my teacher asked whose baby it was, and I said Auntie Spencer and Auntie Ashley." He looked up at them anxiously, and they both gave him reassuring smiles. With a gulp, Clay looked back at the floor and continued. "And Devon said that two mommies can't have a baby, only a mommy and a daddy. And I said that's not true, and then Devon said...he said my aunties were dykes and the baby would be a freak and have to live in the circus. So I punched him."

"Oh, sweetie..." Spencer sighed, and pulled little Clay into her lap. "That was wrong of Devon to say. But you know that hitting is wrong, too, no matter how mad you are."

"He said our family was freaks!" Clay cried, angry tears running down his face.

"Well that means it's our job to teach him, and everybody, more about how different families can be," Spencer said soothingly, looking up at Chelsea, who nodded vigorously.

"That's right," Ashley chimed in.

"You have to understand, Miss Davies, this is a public school. We can't advocate for alternative lifestyles here; it would cause a district-wide uproar."

"This isn't about politics," Chelsea said angrily, standing up and putting a hand on her son's shoulder. "This is about respect for all families. Every child who attends this school deserves to have that, don't they?"

"Of course they do," the now-sweaty principal agreed hastily. "But--"

"And if you think there aren't any kids in this school with two moms or two dads, then you need a serious reality check. If my son had been harassed because he comes from a mixed-race family, we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

"Let's not start making this into more than it is," the principal jumped in, looking nervously between the angry faces across his desk. "It sounds to me like this boy was just repeating what he heard at home."

"Then it's our job to educate him _at school _about why that's not okay," Ashley said firmly.

"I'm afraid we simply don't have the resources--"

"This is the number for Women's Educational Media," Ashley cut him off, scribbling down a number on the back of a business card and pushing it across the table. "They have a whole warehouse full of documentaries and curriculum guides on families, diversity, and bullying. I'm sure they'd be happy to talk to you more about organizing a teach-in for all the teachers and students." The ashen-faced man looked like he would rather have done anything but take the card laying on his desk, but obviously couldn't think of a reason not to.

"I'm afraid I still have to suspend Clay for the rest of the day. We have a strict zero-tolerance policy on violence."

"Fine," said Chelsea, taking Clay's hand as they all stood to leave. "We'll be checking in." Beaming, Clay followed his mother and aunts from the office, confused as to why he was getting rewarded with a day off from school, but not about to question it. The bell rang as they made their way down the hall, and soon the corridor was swarming with children, who glanced quizzically at the group of adults, some of them whispering rather obviously.

"C'mon, dude, let's go get some ice cream," Ashley smirked, leaning down and scooping Clay onto her back. Clay wrapped his arms around her neck and smiled proudly, gazing down triumphantly at all the students staring up at him as he made his highly public exit.

"Bye!" he waved, grinning at the open-mouthed expressions of his classmates. "See y'all suckas later!"


	7. Time Zones are Tricky

Happy new year peeps!

so I have good news and bad news...the bad news, for SoN fans, is that the start date for the second half of season 3 has been pushed back from february to april. I'm assuming this is due to the whole TV writers' strike situation. major suckiness!!! the GOOD news is that we still have fanfic to console ourselves. I also just found out that ellen page (star of juno, which everyone should go see right now) is starring in a teen-lesbian-werewolf movie set to come out this year. it's called "jack and diane," kind of random to invoke the title of a john cougar mellancamp pop hit from the 80's (also not about dykes), but frankly I couldn't give a crap what it's called. ellen page rocks, and the girl who plays her love interest is the same girl who plays her best friend in juno-- also wicked hot! so, 2008 is looking pretty good so far! here's a long-delayed, post-holiday update... enjoy :)

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 7**

**By JewWitch**

**All usual disclaimers apply**

"C'mon, Ella. Open up!" Chelsea was making a valiant effort to make the oatmeal more enticing to her baby niece, but the little girl refused to open her mouth. With a sigh of exasperation, Chelsea turned to her nephew, who was busily spreading his toast with thick gobs of strawberry jam. "Jackie, how do your moms get Ella to eat her breakfast? I'm running out of ideas here." Jackson shrugged.

"I dunno, she usually just does. Maybe she doesn't want oatmeal." Standing, Jackson crossed to the highchair where his little sister sat scowling and fussing. "Want some of my toast, Elly?" Delightedly, the toddler reached out a chubby hand.

"Toast!" she squealed, taking the gooey offering and managing to get about a tenth of it into her mouth, while the rest smeared her face and hair. Chelsea sighed. Ella looked up, grinning through her jam. "Want toast?" She held out her sticky hand, and Chelsea laughed.

"No, baby, that's yours. You eat it. Then it's bath time for you, miss Ella." The little girl crammed her jam-covered prize into her mouth enthusiastically, and Chelsea rose to answer the ringing phone. "Hey Ash," she said after checking the caller ID. Jackson's eyes lit up across the table.

"Mommy!" he yelped, jumping up and leaping for the phone, which Chelsea willingly surrendered. "Hi Mommy, I miss you! Are you with Mama? Are you in Paris? Are you singing tonight?"

"Yes, yes, and yes," Ashley grinned, wishing she could reach through the phone and wrap her little boy up in a hug. "Are you having fun at Aunt Chelsea's?"

"Uh-huh. We went to Clay's basketball game last night, and guess how many baskets he made? Five! That's a lot, right?"

"Uh..."

"It is. And today I get to go to Quinn's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese."

"Wow, that sounds fun...are you helping Auntie Chelsea around the house like we talked about?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm helping a lot. I even helped give Elly her breakfast."

"That's my boy. Do you want to give the phone to Ella now?" Jack glanced over at his sister in the highchair.

"I don't think that's a very good idea, Mommy...she's kind of sticky right now." Ashley laughed, and murmured something indistinct to Spencer on the other end. "Can I talk to Mama now?"

"Sure, buddy. I'll see you in a few days, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy. Love you lots."

"I love you too, munchkin...here's Mama." There was a pause, and a brief rustling.

"Mama?" Jackson asked hesitantly.

"Hi baby," Spencer's voice came flooding through the receiver. "How are you doing?"

"I miss you."

"Oh my sweetie pie, I miss you too...but we'll see you in four more days, right?"

"Uh-huh," the little boy sniffed bravely. "Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad you went to see Mommy." There was a pause as Spencer looked over at Ashley and smiled hugely, thought Ashley couldn't know why.

"Me too, baby."

Spencer hung up with a broad grin, eyes trained on Ashley, who was laying on her stomach and flipping through a magazine on the bed. She didn't say anything; just sat and stared until Ashley finally felt her eyes on her, and looked up quizzically.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about how long it's been since we spent a whole day in bed together." Ashley grinned a little shyly and ducked her head. "_And_ I'm thinking about crawling back over there and licking every inch of your body." Ashley whimpered and lifted her head with a half-pained expression.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, Spence, but I'm gonna have to take a raincheck on the full-body-lick right now."

"What?" Spencer looked utterly crestfallen.

"I have to be onstage in..." Ashley glanced at the clock. "An hour and twelve minutes."

"Oh," Spencer nodded dumbly. "Right." She looked pouty, and Ashley crossed the room, grinning, to kneel in front of her.

"I'll make it up to you later, babe. Promise." Reaching up, she curled her fingers into Spencer's sleek blond hair, pulling her down into a deep kiss, sealing the promise with tongue and teeth.

"Hmmm," Spencer sighed when they finally broke apart. "Okay."

They showered and dressed quickly, finishing their makeup just as the phone rang to announce the limo had arrived and was waiting out front to take them to the ampitheater. Spencer stood waiting by the door, arms crossed, while Ashley tore the room apart looking for her cell phone.

"Just go ahead, Spence, and tell them I'll be down in a minute, okay?"

"Okay," Spencer shrugged, leaving her rooting fruitlessly through all their bags, drawers, and clothes piled onto the floor. Finally she found her phone in her jeans pocket, and, with a final glance at her reflection in the vanity mirror, she hurried to catch up with Spencer. As the door closed behind her, Ashley tripped and cursed over something laying directly across her path into the hall; looking down, she realized it was Spencer's purse. _Weird_, she thought, picking it up.

"Spence?" She called, but there was no answer. She glanced around the empty hall, her heart suddenly pounding its way up into her throat. Ramone was right downstairs, she reminded herself. If anything was wrong, help was close by. "Spencer?" she called again, venturing a little further down the hall. Suddenly a large hand closed painfully over her wrist, and dragged her into the back stairwell.

"Shut up!" He snarled, his voice quiet but quivering with pent-up fury. Staggering to regain her balance, Ashley looked up through her mussed hair and saw an image that turned her blood to ice. It was the man who'd almost hit them with his car early that morning...tall, dark-haired and dirty, a raw and ugly gash above his eyebrow held together with a butterfly bandage. The arm not gripping Ashley's wrist was jamming the cold barrel of a gun into Spencer's throat, his arm around her with her back pressed to his chest. Her face was chalk-white, her breath shallow. Looking into her terrified blue eyes, Ashley's voice died in her throat.

"Stupid slags, think you own the whole world just 'cause you're a bleedin' rock star, huh?" Ashley noticed dimly through her panic that he was British, or maybe Irish. "Going to sue me for ten million quid now? I never even touched you!" Spencer's ragged breath caught in her throat, and she started to cough. "Didn't I tell you to be quiet!" He hissed in her ear, taking the gun off her throat (Ashley's terror eased microscopically) and gripping her by her long hair instead.

"She can't help it," Ashley murmured in a low voice, surprised by how calm she sounded, when her insides writhed with silent screams. "She has asthma, you asshole. She needs her inhaler." With her free hand, she rooted in Spencer's purse, dangling from her own shoulder. "Just let me--"

"Shut up, fucking dyke!" His grip on Spencer's hair tightened, as did the panic constricting Ashley's heart. A glance at Spencer's face confirmed that she didn't have a lot of time to stand here arguing; she was paler than Ashley had ever seen her, and her lips were starting to turn blue from lack of oxygen.

"Look," Ashley said quietly, "It's real simple. Either you let go of me and let me get her inhaler, or in about two minutes you're looking at murder charges." She kept her eyes on the bloodshot gaze of their captor, willing herself not to look away. He started back at her, a combination of frustrated rage and fear in his gaze. Ashley felt sure that, whatever else he had planned, murder hadn't been on the list. There was no sound except for Spencer's desperate coughs, each one piercing Ashley's heart like a knife. When she finally drew breath in, it sounded like nothing Ashley had ever heard before-- strange, filtered, like she was breathing through a wet sponge. Her lungs were constricting. It took every particle of willpower in the brunette rock star's body not to fight, knowing that one false move right now would be as good as Spencer's death sentence. Finally, his beefy grip on Ashley's arm relaxed.

"Go on, then," he muttered, but Ashley was already tearing into the bag, fingers shaking as they searched. Tears poured down her face as crucial seconds ticked by, until with a sob of frustration Ashley upended the contents of Spencer's purse on the floor. Her eyes alighted on the little blue tube, and she grabbed it, yanking off the cap and forcing it into Spencer's mouth.

"Breathe," she whispered, both a command and a plea. Spencer's eyes, wide with shock and panic a few seconds ago, were starting to droop, and Ashley knew that the only thing keeping her on her feet now was the strong arm of their would-be abductor wrapped around her waist. Desperately, Ashley shook the little inhaler, and pushed it between Spencer's dark bluish-purple lips a second time, forcing the medication into her throat. "It's okay, baby, you're okay, shhh...just breathe, please oh please..." Her free hand slipped down to Spencer's chest, feeling the furious pounding of her heart. They were both shaking.

"Ahh, fuck it," the man spat, releasing Spencer, who promptly crumpled to the floor. Ashley pulled her into a half-sitting position against the wall, cooing to her and smoothing her hair back from her face while the cowardly man slipped away.

"Ash..." Spencer whispered, her voice broken-sounding and rough. "I can't..."

"Yes you can," Ashley growled fiercely. "Look at me." She gave Spencer another puff of the inhaler, then held her face up with both hands, feeling the clammy cold sweat clinging to her skin. "I've got you, Spence...I've got you...shhh, you're okay..." Slowly, Spencer's wheezy coughing lost momentum, and began to ease.

"That's good, that's my girl...in and out..." Ashley couldn't stop shaking, relief flooding through her body as the massive dose of adrenalin that had surged through her when she first saw the gun pressed under Spencer's jawbone began to drain away. With trembling fingers, she wiped away the tears pouring down Spencer's face. She couldn't even cry properly, she was so winded; she just lay there, limp and trembling in Ashley's arms, wheezing shallowly but steadily while silent tears spilled over her flushed cheeks.

"I've got you," Ashley murmured again, rocking Spencer against her chest. They were both in shock, and might have laid there a lot longer if not for the booming voice of Ramone hollering for them and pounding down the hallway.

"Here!" Ashley called gratefully, another powerful burst of relief coursing through her body when she saw the tall form of her bodyguard bursting into the stairwell.

"Fuck, Ash, I knew something was wrong...what the fuck happened? I'll call an ambulance."

"I'm okay," Spencer rasped weakly, eyes unfocused though she was obviously coherent enough to listen to the conversation around her. "Don't need...the hospital."

"Like hell you don't," Ashley snorted, a hint of endearing exasperation peeking through her tearstained face as she rolled her eyes. "Just relax, Spence. Nobody's gonna hurt us now. We're safe. We just need to get you to a doctor and make sure you're okay, baby girl."

"Oh...okay..." Spencer mumbled, blinking slowly and looking supremely out of it. Ashley leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"It was that asshole from this morning, wasn't it? We got him downstairs. Caught him trying to high-tail it out the back way a minute ago. What did he do?" Ashley shook her head, suddenly weary at the thought of a long explanation.

"He didn't...he probably just wanted to scare us, fucking dumbass. Shoved a gun in our faces, and then Spence started having an asthma attack...and that idiot wouldn't let me get her inhaler..." she drew Spencer a little closer as she spoke, holding her tight, kissing her hair. "I'm so sorry, Spence...I'm sorry I couldn't protect you..."

"Not your fault, Ash," Spencer murmured, eyes falling shut. Ashley slid a hand down to Spencer's chest, reassuring herself with the steady pounding she felt there. Suddenly, she didn't want to be in Paris anymore, and she sure as hell didn't want to be on stage tonight.

"Call Michelle and tell her we're canceling the last week of tour dates, Ramone," Ashley said calmly, looking up from Spencer's still pale face. "We're going home."


	8. Stubborn vs Stubborn

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 8**

**By JewWitch**

When Spencer woke up, the first thing she noticed was how dry her mouth felt. Like the Sahara, water just a distant memory. She tried swallowing to clear it, but that just made it worse, and the itch that flared up in her throat made her cough.

"Shh, just relax baby...everything's okay."

Ashley's voice cut through the haze, calming Spencer before she'd even opened her eyes. When she finally did, she found a pair of anxious brown eyes looking into her own, searching her face for signs of pain or distress. "It's good to see those baby blues, Spence. You really scared me this time." Spencer tried to talk, but her voice was oddly muffled. It took her a moment to realize that there was an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. Impatiently, she pulled it down around her neck.

"I wanna go home, Ash."

"I know, baby. We are. Just as soon as you're ready." In answer, Spencer sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, completely ignoring the fact that she was attached to it by both the tubes running from the mask dangling around her neck, and the IV drip taped into the crook of her elbow. "Whoa!" Ashley squeaked, pushing her firmly back down. "I meant when the _doctors _say you're ready," she hastily amended.

"_I'm_ a doctor," Spencer mumbled, her voice a little hoarse still. Ashley noticed, and went to the bedside table to pour her a glass of water, keeping her eyes on Spencer the whole time, as if afraid she might bolt.

"A _medical_doctor, Spencer. Jesus! You're more stubborn than Ella at naptime." Ashley popped a straw into the glass before she brought it back to Spencer's bed, her expression just as willful as the glaring blond. "Relax and drink your damn water, woman. You're not going anywhere right now." Too exhausted to fight a determined Ashley, Spencer accepted the cup and took a grateful sip, collapsing back against the pillows with a plaintive whine.

"I feel like I got hit by a truck," she groaned, rubbing her chest with her IV-free hand.

"As far as your body is concerned, you might as well have been." Ashley said this quietly, sitting on the edge of Spencer's bed and leaning forward to smooth back a stray lock of blond hair. "You were barely breathing when the doctors got to you. They said your blood oxygen levels were low enough...low enough to cause brain damage." Ashley looked away as she said this, down at the pale blue bedspread which she picked at absently. "They weren't sure how you'd wake up...or even _if _you'd wake up." Spencer didn't need to see Ashley's eyes to know they were full of tears.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry..." Ashley looked up incredulously at Spencer's apology, and the tears she'd been fighting spilled over.

"Don't! Don't you dare apologize for what that...that bastard did to us," she sniffed, wrapping Spencer up in shaking arms. "You could've died, Spence," she whispered brokenly.

"We both could've died," Spencer reminded her. "I'm pretty sure neither one of us is bulletproof." They sat like that for a few minutes, holding each other and crying quietly, trying to absorb the impact of what they'd just gone through. They hadn't moved an inch when a tall man in a white coat entered, clearing his throat brusquely to get their attention. Ashley glanced up and quickly let go of Spencer, sitting up straighter on the bed and wiping her eyes hastily while Spencer did the same.

"Mademoiselle," he nodded curtly, his weathered face beaming down at Spencer. "I am zo glad to zee you are awake." His dark hair was graying at the temples, but his bright hazel eyes showed no sign of age or weariness. "I am Dr. Renault, and I 'ave been monitoring your case ever zince you were brought 'ere to zee 'ospital last night." He held out a hand, and Spencer shook it gratefully. "Eef you will permeet me?" He held up his stethoscope, obviously wanting to examine her, and she nodded. Ashley made to move out of the way, but Dr. Renault waved her off, and she settled back down on the edge of the bed, one possessive hand on Spencer's leg. They were both quiet while Dr. Renault poked and prodded Spencer, muttering the occasional _hmmm_ or _tres_ _bien_.

"So...how's it look, doc? Can I take her home soon?" Ashley asked, hesitantly breaking the silence.

"Maybe soon," the doctor nodded as he re-settled his stethoscope around his neck. "I will send zee nurse in to take a blood sample. We 'ave some concerns still that your body 'as not enough oxygen, even after zee treatments you 'ave received. Eet may be necessary to stay a few days more, yes? You are very lucky, mademoiselle. A few hours ago, we thought you might 'ave suffered severe brain damage, even loss of basic motor skills. Eet is much better we should go slow with you, yes? So you will go back to United States and say zat zee French doctors are zee best in zee world!" He winked, and Spencer managed a weak grin in return.

"Thank you, Doctor," Ashley said firmly, shaking his hand. He waved her off, as if to say it was nothing, and exited at a brisk pace. Spencer sighed and leaned back against her pillow, looking out the window forlornly, like she might never see sunlight again.

"Hey, c'mon," Ashley nudged her, cracking a smile. "It's just a few days, and then we'll be back home with Jacksie and Ella jumping all over us like a couple of human trampolines. Okay?" Spencer sniffed, and nodded. Sensing that words weren't going to be enough to reassure her, Ashley pulled off her shoes and crawled into the narrow bed, wrapping her arms around the still shaky blonde with careful attention to the IV attached to her arm.

"I'm sorry," Spencer said quietly after a silence so long, Ashley thought she had fallen back to sleep.

"What are you talking about, Spence? I already told you..."

"No, I meant-- I'm sorry I broke my promise." It took Ashley a moment to remember what Spencer was talking about.

"You mean, when you had your first asthma attack, and I made you promise never to stop breathing again?"

"Uh-huh."

"That was fifteen years ago, Spencer."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, baby."

"Okay," Spencer yawned, closing her eyes as Ashley's fingers ran soothingly through her hair. "Don't leave, okay?"

"I won't," Ashley promised, curling up against Spencer's side and rubbing her stomach in soothing circles. Within minutes, they were both out cold.


	9. Me, Overreact?

Hi Peeps! thanks for all the groovy feedback, it's the best fuel to keep the story going :)

Note: The flashbacks in this chapter are in reference to my other SoN story, "Really," which takes place while they're still in high school. You don't have to read that to get what's happening here, but I think it would probably help.**  
**

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 9**

**By JewWitch**

Ashley woke up with a prickly, nervous stomachache, her eyes flying open with the groggy certainty that something was wrong. Glancing around the room, her sleep-befuddled brain latched on to one key fact: Spencer was gone. Her stomach twisting sharply from _nervous_ to _full-fledged panic_, Ashley sprang out of bed, stumbled in the sheets, and fell over.

"Spencer?" She yelled out, struggling to free herself from the sheets twisted around her ankles. Her mind was racing. Had something happened while they were asleep? Could Spencer be in the OR right now, fighting for her life again? But how could she have slept through a code, all those nurses and doctors running in, machines beeping, people shouting? She couldn't have slept through that. But then where was Spencer?

"Hey. You okay down there?" Ashley looked up from her tangle; there was Spencer, standing in the doorway in her hospital gown, smiling bemusedly with her head cocked to one side. One hand on the tall, wheeled pole her IV drip was attached to, and the other modestly holding the paper-thin gown closed behind her back.

"Where the hell have you been?" Ashley demanded hotly, finally extricating herself from the hostile bedding and springing to her feet.

"Bathroom," Spencer blinked, still smiling at Ashley's unhinged expression, and reaching out to tuck a bunch of messy brown curls back behind her ear. "You looked so exhausted, I didn't want to wake you."

"Well you should have! You can't just go wandering around by yourself in the hospital, Spence-- what if something had happened, what if you needed help and there was no one there?" Ashley crossed her arms, her lips a thin, tense line. Spencer blinked again.

"Ash."

"What?"

"You're doing it again."

"Spence, you need to---"

"No. _You_ need to sit down," Spencer sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Ashley down beside her, "and take a deeeeeeep breath." Ashley obeyed without really thinking about it, opening her mouth when Spencer did, and letting out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The sharp, gnawing pain in her gut began to fizzle out.

"Better?" Spencer asked gently, rubbing Ashley's shaking back and smiling goofily at her.

"You almost died, Spencer."

"I know, Ash. I know you were scared. But I'm okay now, and I'm certainly capable of going to the bathroom on my own. So please grip yourself."

"But you..."

"No," Spencer shook her head impatiently, cutting her off. "I am _not_made of glass. Remember?" They held each other's gaze for a moment. Yes, of course Ashley remembered. She'd never be good at standing idly by while Spencer was hurting...but in the week following Spencer's first asthma attack and trip to the emergency room, she was a verifiable basket case. At first Spencer indulged her, calling her "Nurse Ashley" and making lots of bad jokes about sponge baths. But eventually it stopped being funny.

_"Are you sure you're ready to go back to school? You still look really pale, baby. Maybe you should take on more day."_

_"I'm pale because I've been inside for a week," Spencer said with a roll of her eyes. Throwing her books into the back seat, she climbed into Ashley's Porsche rubbing her nose, and stifled a quiet _huh-kshhh!_against the back of her sleeve._

_"Bless you, " Ashley said promptly, cocking her head to peer anxiously into Spencer's face. "I think you're still sick."_

_ "I'm fine, Ash, it's just a runny nose. No fever, no wheezing, even my mom said I'm good to go back to school today. And I'm so bored of sitting around the house, going to school actually sounds exciting." She smirked and kissed her anxious-looking girlfriend lightly on the lips. "So let's go!"_

_"You've got your inhaler?" Ashley asked, making no move to start the car. _

_"Yes, Mom."_

_"Show me." Ashley blinked expectantly. Spencer raised both eyebrows._

_"I just called you _Mom_, and you're not even going to laugh?"_

_"This isn't a joke, Spence!"_

_"I know that, Jesus Christ! Here it is, okay?" She pulled her brand-new inhaler from her purse and waved it in front of Ashley's face. "What's next, you going to follow me to every class to make sure I don't stop breathing again? How about into the bathroom, cause I'm not sure I can handle that on my own anymore." They glared daggers at each other._

_"Pardon me for caring," Ashley said coldly. Spencer rolled her head to one side, giving her the patented give-me-a-break look. _

_"I love you, Ashley Davies. But you've gotta stop treating me like I'm made of glass now. I'm not an invalid, and I'm not dying. I've just got asthma, and I'm gonna have it for the rest of my life, so we're just gonna have to learn to live with it. Can you do that?" _

_"That's what I've been trying to do..."_

_"No, Ash, you've been trying to take care of me all by yourself. And when I was sick in the hospital, that was amazing. You were so there for me when I needed you, and you made me feel so safe, and I am not ever gonna forget that, baby. But you have to trust me now, too, like I trusted you. I promised you I'd take care of myself, and I will. I am. Don't you believe that?" She blinked; eyes wide open. This wasn't rhetorical. She was actually asking._

_"I-- of course I believe that, Spence, it's just...I felt so helpless..."_

_"How do you think I felt?" Spencer demanded impatiently, her voice sharp._

_"I just don't want anything to happen to you!" Ashley shouted, much more loudly than she'd intended. "Is that so bad?" She blinked, and the angry tears glittering in her dark eyes spilled over. "Shit," she mumbled, wiping them quickly away. She turned away from Spencer and stared out the window. The silence lasted only a few moments, but it felt like hours ticking away, and somehow Ashley was paralyzed, completely unable to move or speak. She didn't know what she was supposed to do anymore._

_"No," Spencer said finally, the light touch of her fingers on Ashley's face enough to make her lift her eyes, almost shyly, back to the warm ocean-blue gaze waiting for her. "That's not so bad." Leaning into each other, they both melted into a long, slow kiss. The feeling of Spencer's lips on hers calmed Ashley in a way that words and promises never could; this was the promise she believed. When they pulled back, they were both smiling._

_"I do trust you, Spence...and I'll try not to worry so much," Ashley said quietly, fingers playing lightly over Spencer's bare knee._

_"It's okay to worry a little," the grinning blonde conceded, taking Ashley's wandering hand in her own and squeezing it. "You just can't put me in a plastic bubble every time I catch a cold."_

_"Damn, wish you'd said that before I sent away for Vogue's new spring plastic bubble line," Ashley teased, her expression completely deadpan. Spencer snickered and rolled her eyes. _

"Okay, so I overreacted," Ashley admitted grudgingly. "I guess you're old enough to pee without help...sorry I yelled."

"Thank you. And I'm sorry I scared you." Spencer leaned over, and ran her fingers through Ashley's hair without really thinking about it. "We'll both feel better when we get home."

"Yeah," Ashley nodded absently, and leaned her head on Spencer's shoulder. Then they both jumped at the shrill ringing of Spencer's phone on the bedside table, springing apart like a couple of guilty teenagers. Spencer picked up the phone, rolled her eyes, and flipped it open.

"Hi Mom...wait, slow down-- no, we're-- Mom! We're fine. ...They said_what_ on the news? ...No, no, we didn't get hurt..." She glanced up at Ashley with an expression of exasperation, mixed with a small dose of guilt, as they both realized they'd forgotten to check in at home. Ashley listened as Spencer attempted to get a word in edgewise around her mother's ranting, smirking when Spencer rolled her eyes in a particularly adolescent way. Spencer smacked her on the thigh. Ashley's laughter was cut short when Spencer handed her the phone.

"Uhn-uh," Ashley shook her head, her own expression shifting to adolescent terror at the prospect of talking to her mother-in-law.

"Take it," Spencer hissed, "and go find Dr. Renault, ok?"

"Why?"

"Because if you don't," Spencer sighed drolly, "my mom will be here inside of 12 hours." Ashley grabbed the phone and sprang from the room in two seconds flat.


	10. Playground Adventures

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 10**

**By JewWitch**

"I can't wait to see his face," Ashley beamed as she pulled up in front of her son's school, a full two days before he expected to see them.

"Jackie surprise!" Ella crowed from her car-seat in the back. She waved a fist full of animal crackers like a welcome banner.

"That's right, Ella. Jackie will be so surprised to see us, won't he?" Spencer grinned, glancing at her daughter's dimpled reflection in the rearview mirror. She was holding a monkey-shaped cracker in one hand, and a tiger in the other, and regarding them with a serious expression.

"What does the tiger say, Elly?"

"Rrrrrrroar!" The toddler growled, biting off the head delightedly.

"And what does the monkey say?" Ashley prompted, sharing a grin with Spencer across the seat.

"Ooo! Ooo! Ooo!" Ella squealed, laughing.

"Good girl," Ashley praised her. Turning back to look out the window, she caught sight of Jackson just as he was catching sight of them, a wide-eyed, incredulously joyful expression on his face. She waved to him, and he bolted towards the car, opened the front passenger-side door, and threw himself across Spencer's lap.

"Mama, Mommy, you're home!" he shrieked, squirming and giggling while they both covered him with kisses.

"Surprise! Jackie surprise!" Ella chirped from the back seat. They hugged and kissed their little boy until the car behind them blasted its horn, not-so-subtly reminding them that there were other people waiting to pick up their kids, too. Jack talked a mile a minute while he climbed over the seats and belted himself in next to his sister, recounting his day at school and all the fun things they'd done while staying with Auntie Chelsea and Cousin Clay.

"How come you ended the tour early, Mommy?" He asked finally, after exhausting his recitation. Sharing a look, Spencer and Ashley silently agreed that their seven-year-old didn't need to know the whole truth of their recent ordeal, though they had agreed years ago that lying outright to their kids was never okay.

"Well baby, Mama wasn't feeling very good, and the doctor said she needed a little extra rest," Ashley said lightly, one hand slipping onto Spencer's knee unconsciously as she spoke.

"You don't feel good, Mama? Want me to rub your tummy, like you do when I'm sick?" He brushed his shaggy brown hair back off his face, blinking seriously.

"No, sweetie, Mama's fine now," Spencer smiled.

"Okay, Mama, if you're sure..." he looked at her with a mixture of concern and wary suspicion, exactly as Ashley might, then apparently decided he believed her. "Then, can we still go to the park? Auntie Chelsea was going to bring me today for a playdate with Ana, 'cause they're turning on the sprinklers today. I already have my bathing suit in my backpack, and everything."

"Absolutely," Spencer nodded, having already been made aware of this plan by Madison, who would be meeting them at their favorite park along with their favorite niece, Ana. Jackson whooped his approval.

"Elly, wanna go play at the park? You can run in the sprinklers today!" he beamed.

"Park! Park! Park!" Ella crowed. "Spwinkle!"

Griffith Park was crowded with the usual assortment of after-school groups, from babies and toddlers up to young teenagers, chasing each other through the spray from various playground equipment that magically came to life when the city parks department flipped the switch that turned the ordinary playground into a water park in hot weather. After a few minutes of squirming and wrestling the kids into bathing suits and suntan lotion, Jack and Ana were off and running, while little Ella plopped down in the sandbox and began digging with great absorption. Meanwhile, Ashley and Spencer lounged on a bench with their sister-in-law, catching up on everything that had happened while they'd been away, and sharing the not-so-pleasant details of what had actually happened in Paris. Ashley had only just gotten to the part where Ramone pulled them from the path of the out-of-control car, when they heard an almighty shriek coming from the sandbox.

A boy about Jackson's age, with red hair and a malicious smirk across his freckled face, had grabbed Ella's starfish-pail and shovel from her hands, and was holding them high above his head, out of her reach. Spencer and Ashley both stood at the same time, ready to intervene, but Jackson got there first, skidding to a halt in front of the bully in nothing but a pair of sopping wet bathing trunks.

"That's my sister's. Give it back!" He snatched the stolen toys from the other boy's hands, and without missing a beat, the boy sank his fist into Jackson's stomach, punching him as hard as he could.

"Hey!" Spencer and Ashley both shrieked in unison, causing the red-haired bully to look up, and, seeing them, bolt in the other direction. They didn't bother chasing him, but ran straight for Jack and Ella. The little girl was crying, and flung herself onto Spencer's legs, while Jackson lay curled up on his side in the sand, mouth wide open in a silent howl of pain.

"You just got the wind knocked out of you, buddy," Ashley cooed softly, picking her slippery, dripping-wet son up under his arms and trying to get him to straighten up and take in a breath. He mouthed soundlessly like a fish out of water for several long moments. Finally, with a gasp, he threw up all over her.

"It's okay, I've got you," Ashley hummed, rubbing between his shoulder blades while he panted for breath.

"I'm s-sorry, Mommy," he sniffed, tears spilling down his sandy face.

"What for? You didn't punch _yourself _in the stomach just now, did you?"

"It was very brave of you to protect your sister like that, Jacksie," Spencer added, with Ella peering cautiously from the safety of her arms.

"I wanna go home," he sobbed, flinging himself against Spencer's legs while Ashley stood and accepted a towel from Madison, who had caught up to them.

"Okay, honey, shhh...let's just get you cleaned up," Spencer soothed, allowing Madison to take Ella from her arms so she could dry off her crying son. Ashley, meanwhile, was stripping off her sodden t-shirt, grateful that she'd chosen to wear a sports bra underneath. By the time Jackson was dried off and back in his clothes, his sobs had tapered off to a few broken sniffles.

"You know," Spencer said quietly, kneeling down beside her son to slip his foot into a sandal, "I threw up on Mommy once, too." She glanced up at Ashley with a playful smirk as she spoke, and Ashley grinned conspiratorially back.

"You did?" He blinked incredulously.

"Uh-huh," Spencer nodded.

"Did somebody punch you in the stomach?"

"No," Spencer laughed, "Nobody punched me. But a certain somebody was just starting to grow inside my tummy..."

"Me?"

"That's right," Ashley nodded, grinning broadly as she hoisted her little boy up into her arms. "And we were so happy to find out that you were on the way, Jack, that I didn't even get mad at your Mama for hurling on me." She turned her head to catch Spencer's eye as Jackson laughed delightedly, and they both smiled at the memory.

_"Wake up, birthday girl." The low, musical lilt of a certain smoky voice in her ear made Spencer open her eyes, to find a very skimpily clad Ashley kneeling over her with a huge grin and a heavily laden breakfast tray._

_"Hey," she yawned, blinking sleepily as a matching grin slowly spread across her own face._

_"Happy 25th birthday, beautiful. I made you breakfast in bed," Ashley proclaimed proudly._

_"You cooked?" Spencer said in surprise, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Wow, Ash, what did you..." but before she could finish her question, the powerful aroma of fresh coffee wafted across Spencer's nostrils, and her face went a delicate shade of green._

_"Spence?" Ashley cocked her head, looking concerned. "What is it?" She was kneeling over the blonde with one leg on either side of her hips, straddling her; but also pinning her to the bed. Spencer had nowhere to go as the wave of nausea rolled suddenly and inexplicably over her. She opened her mouth to tell Ashley to move, quick, but it was already too late, and Spencer threw up, right there, ruining both the contents of the breakfast tray and Ashley's brand new silk negligee. _

_"Whoa!" Ashley yelped, dropping the tray, which clattered to the floor, and automatically reaching out to gather Spencer's hair in one hand, rubbing her back soothingly with the other. "Holy shit, are you okay?"_

_"Oh, fuck...Ash, I'm...I'm so sorry," Spencer sniffed, looking up into the anxious brown eyes above her with an expression of absolute horror. _

_"It's okay, baby, it's okay," Ashley soothed, her voice low and calming as she took her hand off Spencer's back, and pressed it to her forehead instead. "Are you sick? Poor thing, on your birthday, too!"_

_"I don't think so...actually, I feel fine now..." Realization seemed to hit them both at the same moment, as Spencer looked up at Ashley in wonder, at the same moment that Ashley sat back on her heels as if she'd just been struck in the face with something heavy._

_"Oh my god," Spencer whispered, hands flying unconsciously to her stomach. "Ash?" She looked up uncertainly, a slightly dazed expression in her cloudy blue eyes. Ashley nodded, her own dumbstruck expression shifting slowly to a radiant grin. Looking down at herself, Ashley laughed out loud and pulled off the sodden lingerie, throwing it to the floor, and launched herself onto Spencer, kissing her all over her face._

_"Don't!" Spencer squealed, jerking her head away when Ashley went for her lips. "I've got barf breath!"_

_"Hmm, yeah, don't care," Ashley mumbled, hands slipping under the covers to find the smooth, warm skin of Spencer's stomach._

_"Well I do," Spencer said firmly, wriggling out from under Ashley's enthusiastic hands...not to mention a few other very enthusiastic parts...and crawling out of bed. "Shower?" Ashley raked her eyes up Spencer's naked body, grinning wickedly._

_"Uh-huh," She agreed happily. _

_But before she could turn toward the bathroom, Spencer suddenly found herself pinned to the spot by Ashley, who dropped to her knees in front of her, wrapped both arms around her hips, and pressed a long, slow kiss just below her bellybutton. _

_"Hey there, little one," she whispered to Spencer's stomach. "I'm so happy you're in there...and I can't wait to meet you."_


	11. Bedtime Adventures

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 11**

**By JewWitch**

**This Chapter is rated M! Be warned ;) **

"Ella Jane, you come out here right now!" Ashley blew a strand of hair out of her face as she stood in the hallway, hands on her hips, looking for signs of which way her toddler had run off to. She heard an indistinct giggling echoing down the long hallway, but it was muffled by the thick carpet, and she couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from. "I'm serious, Ella! Mommy's not playing games. I told you twenty minutes ago it was bath time! Come out right now!"

"I'll find her, Mommy," Jackson offered, appearing beside her without warning and dripping water and soap suds everywhere.

"Jack! You're making a mess, get back in the tub!" Ashley groaned, feeling the beginnings of a stabbing headache building behind her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath, trying to control her growing frustration as she glared at her son, who was not only naked and wet, but with a head full of shampoo suds about to drip into his eyes.

"But I know all the places she--"

"I don't want to hear it! Tub, now!" Ashley snapped, registering with a faint pang the look of hurt surprise in his large brown eyes as he took a step back from her.

"O-_kay_," he mumbled under his breath, turning and stomping back to the bathroom. Ashley sighed.

"Ella!" She heard Jackson splashing back into the tub as she stalked down the hall, poking her head into every room, stubbing her big toe on a half-finished leggo castle in the dark play room with a yelp of pain. A glance at the clock in Spencer's study told her it was already ten minutes past the kids' bedtime, and the way things were going, it would be at least another half an hour until they were actually asleep. She groaned, and stopped hoping Spencer would get home already to help her-- now she hoped Spencer _wouldn't _come home until after they were asleep, sure she'd be in for a lecture on her poor time-management and inconsistent bedtime routines. And frankly, that was the last thing she needed.

"Boo!" Ella squealed, laughing ecstatically when Ashley finally found her, in the laundry basket of all places. "Mommy hide now!"

"What did I tell you? Playtime is over, and now it's too late for a bath. Time for pj's," Ashley sighed, lifting the little girl out of the crumpled pile of clothes and carrying her, shrieking now, to her room.

"No! Baaaaaaath!" Ella wailed, her laughter of moments ago replaced with red-faced bawling. _Of course, NOW she wants a bath..._Ashley closed her eyes and took a deep breath to keep from primal-screaming. The image of this same scene with a wailing newborn added into the mix flashed into Ashley's head, and her aching head gave a pronounced throb. _I must've been out of my freaking mind_, she thought, before she could stop herself. She pushed the thought firmly aside, forcing herself instead to focus on the task of getting her screaming 22-month old into her pajamas, while at the same time yelling for Jack that he'd better be ready to dry off by the time she came back in.

It was past midnight when Spencer finally got home, to find Ashley curled up tightly in bed with her favorite book, _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. _She didn't look up when the sound of footsteps and the creak of the door announced the blonde's arrival.

"Hey, gorgeous," Spencer yawned, kicking off her shoes and immediately beginning to undress, flinging her suit coat, blouse and skirt all around the room. "I'm glad you're still up...sorry I'm so late, but I was just in the zone, you know? I finally finished the draft! Wanna see?"

"Spence, I'm tired. Isn't there someone more qualified to read your psychobabble than me?" Even without looking up from her book, Ashley could tell that Spencer had stopped undressing, and was staring at her with the same expression of hurt surprise that Jackson had worn a few hours ago when she had rebuffed him for dripping bath suds in the hall. Unlike their seven-year-old, however, Spencer wasn't about to retreat so easily.

"I thought you were happy for me that I'm finally publishing something."

"I am, I just..."

"You said you were proud of me."

"Of course I'm proud of you," Ashley frowned, finally looking up at Spencer, who stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed, a strangely confrontational stance for someone clad in nothing but her bra and panties. "That doesn't stop me from being tired, does it?"

"You used to like to hear about my work, Ash."

"We didn't used to have two kids," Ashley replied tersely, finally putting her book aside to rub her temples. "Sorry if my energy's a little low after running around all night by myself trying to get them to bed."

"Ex_cuse_ me?" Spencer's eyes widened indignantly. Ashley sighed petulantly.

"I just meant..."

"No, okay, I think I got it. It's fine for _you_ to go off for months at a time for the sake of your work, but when _I_ get asked to publish a major paper for the American Psychiatric Association--"

"I just had a bad day, Spence, okay? I'm sorry." Spencer's eyes flashed, and then with a sigh, all the fight seemed to go out of her.

"Yeah...me too. It's late, and I don't want to argue."

"Me neither," Ashley agreed quietly. Spencer half-smiled, and crossed the short distance to the bed, slipping out of her remaining garments and climbing on top of Ashley with catlike grace, arching her back and letting her sleek blonde hair trail over the smooth, olive-toned flesh beneath her.

"Make love, not war, right?" she murmured low in Ashley's ear, before the tip of her tongue darted out to lick it.

"Spence, please, I just told you I'm exhausted. And I've got a splitting headache," Ashley whined, pushing Spencer sideways off her. Spencer didn't say anything. Ashley glanced across the bed, immediately regretting her abruptness. "Spencer?"

"Good night," Spencer said quietly, slipping under the covers and turning away from Ashley in the bed. _Way to go, Davies_, Ashley berated herself silently. _This conversation was so totally worth waiting up till midnight to have... _There was nothing left to do, then, but roll over and turn out the light, and lie there feeling like a jerk until she fell asleep.

It seemed like only a few minutes later when Ashley opened her eyes again, but the readout on the digital alarm clock said 3:47 am. She blinked, not sure at first why she was awake at all. Then two things struck her simultaneously: one, the bed was empty beside her, and two, the sound that had awoken her was Spencer coughing in the bathroom. Cursing herself, Ashley sat up and rubbed her eyes. Spencer's asthma was pretty mild most of the time; it took her longer than average to shake a cold, perhaps, but other than that it was pretty easy to forget she had it. But when it did act up, this was usually how it started; with late-night coughing fits that woke her out of a sound sleep and left her exhausted in the morning. Ashley knew it was her fault, too. Stress was a major trigger (their recent adventure being held at gunpoint on the back stairs of a Paris hotel being a prime, extreme example), right up there with cigarette smoke and car exhaust, neither of which were a factor in their bedroom at the moment. And she knew the reason Spencer had gotten up and hidden in the bathroom was to avoid waking her up, too. _Because I bitched about how fucking tired I was_, she thought furiously. _Could I be a bigger jackass?_

She climbed out of the warm covers, stumbling groggily over her feet as she pulled her robe on and padded toward the light under the bathroom door. Reaching out, she knocked tentatively.

"Baby? Can I come in?" There was a brief silence; then the door opened and Spencer was leaning against the frame, blinking watering eyes.

"Sorry...I didn't mean to wake you..." Spencer didn't get to finish her apology before Ashley's arms were around her.

"Shhh, don't be stupid, you don't have to apologize," Ashley whispered, holding Spencer's trembling body tightly until she stopped shaking. "Are you okay, baby girl?"

"Yeah," Spencer nodded slightly against Ashley's shoulder. "But I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep for a while." Ashley understood the problem. Spencer hated using her inhaler at night, for just this reason-- it made her as jittery as five cups of coffee, replacing one cause of sleeplessness with another.

"I'm sorry, Spence," Ashley murmured, pulling back slightly to lay a warm palm flat against Spencer's collarbone. "I was a real jerk before. I know how hard you've been working on this paper, and I'm proud of you. The APA won't know what hit 'em." Spencer grinned, swaying slightly under the gentle stroking of Ashley's hand across her chest.

"Thanks," She whispered, reaching up with one hand and grazing her thumb across Ashley's temple. "How's your head feeling now?" There was, Ashley thought, a very faint, impish grin sparkling behind her stormy blue eyes.

"Great," she smirked, leaning in and kissing Spencer hard, pinning her against the doorframe. Spencer melted into the kiss, reaching out and tangling her hands in Ashley's sleep-mussed brown hair while Ashley's hands roamed up and down Spencer's hips, her sides, her arms, with a supple reverence that never failed to make Spencer weak in the knees.

"Bed," Ashley murmured decisively when she felt Spencer lean trembling against her.

"Uh-huh," Spencer agreed breathlessly, arching her back against the doorframe in order to press herself more firmly against the length of Ashley's body. Ashley growled low in the back of her throat, and pulled Spencer away by her hips, stumbling towards the bed and falling back onto it with an energetic bounce. Spencer giggled, now on top of Ashley with a cat-that-are-the-canary grin.

Not missing a beat, Ashley sat up and began trailing kisses over Spencer's chest, savoring the feel of the smooth, soft skin under her lips, the smell and taste of her precious girl like musky vanilla. She opened her mouth and grazed her teeth over a tight nipple, biting down just hard enough to make Spencer gasp and arch against her. She took the hard little bud into her mouth, sucking lightly and twirling her tongue around it, feeling the heat pooling fast between her legs as her senses all stood up on tip-toe, straining for more of Spencer, trying to devour her. At the same time, Spencer raked her nails up Ashley's back, hard, and Ashley let go of the now saliva-slicked nipple with an involuntary shriek of pleasure.

"You are so beautiful," Spencer whispered, holding Ashley's face in her hands, grazing her thumbs across flushed cheeks. Ashley stopped struggling for control, and let Spencer push her down onto her back, kissing deeply while their limbs tangled together. Spencer's weight was so delicious on top of her, perfect, warm, stomachs and breasts pressed together, slippery with sweat. Wanting more, Ashley arched her back and slipped a thigh firmly between Spencer's, pressing up into her slick heat teasingly. Spencer gasped, her blue eyes almost black with desire as they locked onto Ashley's below her.

"I'm gonna make you scream," she whispered, her voice trembling with pent-up desire. Ashley's throat went dry as she felt Spencer's fingers slipping lightly, teasingly between her legs, then disappear again just as quickly, bringing them wet and glistening up to her lips. They held each other's gaze as Spencer sucked her fingers one at a time into her mouth, cleaning them thoroughly of Ashley's essence. "Yum," she breathed, grinning fiendishly.

"Stop teasing," Ashley whined, wriggling helplessly. Spencer laughed, a delighted, warm, full of life laugh, and kissed Ashley lightly, sharing the taste of herself still on Spencer's lips.

"With pleasure," Spencer growled, her voice lower and rougher than usual. She kissed her way down Ashley's body, stopping to dip her tongue briefly into the sweet bellybutton, before finally reaching her goal, tongue and teeth and lips all feasting on the sweet, sticky treasure that was Ashley. It wasn't long before Ashley's whole body exploded with pleasure, wave after wave, until she was completely limp in Spencer's arms, faintly aware of the sweat-slicked body above her crawling back up to curl against her side, panting slightly, laying kisses all along her bare skin as she went.

"You are...amazing," Ashley murmured, grazing her fingers across Spencer's lips, and sharing a sweet, unguarded smile before summoning all her remaining strength to push herself up on one elbow, and planting a kiss on those soft lips, and tasting herself again on Spencer.

"Yeah, well, I've been working out," Spencer teased, smirking in a highly self-satisfied way.

"Well that's good," Ashley grinned back, matching the fiendish expression in Spencer's smoky blue eyes with her own bottomless brown. "Cause you're gonna need your strength now..." and with one smooth move, she flipped the unsuspecting blonde onto her back, shrieking with laughter. They never did end up getting any more sleep that night, but neither one was complaining come morning.


	12. Happy Birthday

Hey peeps! It's been a long time, but I just came back to this story! it's probably best to start at the beginning, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary. Enjoy :)

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 12**

**By JewWitch  
**

"Wake up! Wake up!" The door to Spencer and Ashley's bedroom was thrown open, and light from the hall spilled onto the two figures sprawled on the bed.

"Aww, Jacks…it's early," Ashley groaned, eyes still closed, pressing her face further into her pillow. Spencer just made a sleepy, incoherent murmuring sound, and curled up closer to Ashley's warm body.

"But the birthday girl is here!" Jackson squealed, holding his little sister up and tossing her lightly onto the bed between her mothers, while little Ella giggled uncontrollably. Ashley and Spencer's eyes snapped open, taking in the heart-warming sight of their toddler bouncing on the end of their bed, her sleep-mussed blond hair topped with a shiny tin-foil crown, festively adorned with multicolored plastic jewels and a huge, glittery "2" in the center.

"Oh, baby, did you make this beautiful birthday crown for your sister?" Spencer asked with a yawn, beaming at her son, who had climbed into the bed after his sister.

"Auntie Chelsea helped," Jackson shrugged. "We spent all yesterday afternoon on it."

"Totally hard rock," Ashley agreed, sitting up with a yawn of her own. "Happy birthday, Ella!" She picked up the bouncing toddler, and all three of them hugged and kissed her while she laughed delightedly.

"Birfday?" Ella asked, looking happy but rather confused when her moms finally released her.

"Yeah, Elly, it's your birthday. You're two years old today!" Jackson explained patiently, pointing to the crown atop the little girl's head.

"I two?" Ella frowned, pointing to her chest bemusedly.

"Yeah, you're two!" Jackson nodded vigorously, grinning widely, and showing a newly missing front tooth.

"I two _now?"_ Ella asked again, not quite able to wrap her mind around the concept.

"Okay, nobody move…I have _got_ to get the camera." Spencer disappeared into the hall, and Jackson wiggled into the warm spot under the covers she'd left behind, cuddling up to Ashley contentedly.

"Elly, remember we're having your birthday party today?" he reminded his sister, who squealed shrilly with delight.

"Pony!"

"That's right, baby," Ashley murmured with another groggy yawn, still not really awake. "We're gonna have a pony come give everybody rides in the backyard…" Rubbing her eyes, Ashley blinked, and grinned at the awestruck expression on her small daughter's cherubic face. "And then we'll have a great big cake, and lots of presents for you."

"Pony!" Ella shrieked again, her grin almost bigger than her face. "Pony pwesent!"

"No no, Elly," Jackson shook his head gravely. "The pony isn't to keep. It's just for today, remember? He, he has to go back to his home after the party." A scowl appeared on the toddler's face, replacing the beaming grin of moments before, and she crossed her arms and pouted.

"Aw, honey, don't pout," Ashley smirked, thinking how much the toddler resembled Spencer with her forehead all scrunched up, and lower lip sticking out like that. "You're gonna get a lot of great presents to keep, right?" Ella looked up at Ashley speculatively, her homemade crown tilting sideways across her forehead. A flash alerted them to Spencer's return to the bedroom, camera in hand, with a distinctive Kodak-moment gleam in her eye.

"Okay, everybody smile!" Spencer beamed, framing up another shot. She looked through the viewfinder; then lowered it again with a slight frown at Ashley's unhappy expression. "Ash, I said smile, not glower. Can't you do any better?" Instead of answering, Ashley clamped a hand over her mouth and bolted out from between her two children, scrambling for the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind her. A moment later, they could all hear the sound of her retching.

"What's the matter with Mommy?" Jackson asked, looking alarmed.

"Don't be scared, sweetie. Mommy just has a little tummy ache," Spencer lied smoothly, glancing from the bathroom door to her two bewildered children still sprawled out on the bed. "Why don't you take Ella downstairs and turn on some cartoons for the two of you to watch? I'll be down in a minute to make breakfast."

"Okay," Jackson agreed uncertainly, hauling his little sister up under her arms and carrying her out of the room while Spencer slipped through the bathroom door, and knelt down on the tile next to a whimpering Ashley.

"You okay, babe?" Spencer asked softly, reaching out to rub Ashley's back with one hand and gathering her hair with the other.

"Oh yeah, fucking peachy," Ashley snarled. "This is the most fun I've had in years." Spencer silently leaned over and filled a dixie cup with water from the sink, and handed it to Ashley, who took it rather mulishly.

"Sorry I ruined the photo moment," she grumbled petulantly, leaning back into Spencer's arms on the cool tile floor.

"Aw, Ash, don't worry about that," Spencer murmured, wrapping her arms around the trembling body in front of her, and kissing her temple. "There'll be plenty more Kodak moments today. And it's not like you planned it."

"Yeah," Ashley agreed, the grumpiness draining out of her voice as Spencer's warm hands began to gently stroke her stomach.

"Think you're ready to come down now?"

"Uh-huh," Ashley nodded, taking another sip of her water. "Just let me brush my teeth first." She stood a little shakily, and Spencer leaned up on her knees, pushed Ashley's pajama top up, and kissed her bellybutton.

"And you," she said sternly, addressing Ashley's stomach. "Are you gonna be good in there, and let Mommy have some peace today?" Ashley giggled and ran a hand through Spencer's sleep-mussed hair, exactly the same golden hue and silky texture as Ella's.

"I told you this baby was gonna be stubborn," Ashley shrugged, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips as Spencer glanced up, and their eyes met.

_"I_ told _you,"_ Spencer smirked.

The rest of the morning passed in a rush, as breakfast was made, backpacks filled, and the four of them all dressed for their day. Ashley tried to act cheerful for everyone else's sake, not wanting to spoil her daughter's second birthday with her pregnancy mood swings and lingering nausea. By the time she got to the recording studio, she was wishing she'd never gotten out of bed; and the fact that she couldn't tell anyone why she was acting so crabby didn't help, either. She knew that Spencer wanted to take out a full-page ad in the Times to tell the world they were having another baby, but Ashley was dead set against saying anything before the first trimester was over. Just in case…well, in case she had another miscarriage. She couldn't bear the thought of having to tell everyone THAT. So she suffered in silence; not exactly typical Ashley style. But she got through her day the best she could, right up till she picked Ella up from daycare in what could only be described as full toddler-tantrum mode.

"It's okay, you can deal with this," she said to herself quietly on the drive home, as Ella shrieked at the top of her lungs from her car seat. "Spencer will be home in half an hour…you can handle this for half an hour." A plastic dinosaur hit her in the back of the head.

"Fuck!" Ashley squealed, eyes watering from the pain. Then she took a deep breath. "Half an hour…" she whispered.

An hour and a half later, she heard the front door slam, and looked up from where her head was buried under a pillow on the couch. All she could see of Spencer was a pair of legs; everything else was obscured by several enormous bags of party favors piled high in her arms. Jackson trailed behind her, carrying a much smaller bag of party hats, his backpack trailing on the floor.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Ashley snapped, sitting up and rubbing her aching head. "You were supposed to be home to help me set up an hour ago!"

"I'm sorry, Ash, we had to stay after soccer practice to have a talk with the coach and some other parents. Jack, tell Mommy what you did." The seven-year-old's head was hung so low, all Ashley could see was his shaggy brown hair and the tip of his nose.

"Punched Sam in the mouth 'cause he called me a sissy-boy."

"What??" Ashley sprang up from her seat, arms crossed in disbelief. "Jackson Raife, what got into you?" The little boy shrugged, eyes still focused on his shoes.

"That's not an answer, buddy." Finally he looked up, and Ashley gasped at the swollen bruise around her son's eye. "Oh my God!" She grabbed his face and tilted it up toward the light.

"It's okay Mommy, it doesn't hurt that much," he said glumly, still avoiding her eyes.

"It most definitely is _not_ okay! Is this how Mama and I taught you to behave? We're about to have a house full of toddlers and parents, and here you are looking like you just escaped from juvie!"

"Ash…" Spencer reached out and laid a warm hand on her trembling arm.

"No Spencer, he needs to hear this."

"I'm _sorry!"_ Jackson yelled, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he ran from the room. A moment later, they heard his door slam above their heads. Ashley groaned, and pressed her face into her hands.

"Spence? Not to alarm you, but I think I just heard myself become my mother."

"Baby," Spencer sighed, pulling Ashley into her arms for a long moment. Ashley didn't say anything, just laid her head on Spencer's shoulder and breathed in the sweet, soothing smell of her hair. "You are absolutely _nothing_ like your mother."

"Still wasn't my best parental moment." Spencer pulled back and pressed her lips to Ashley's, then gave her "the look."

"No, it wasn't. If you'd let him tell you what happened before you accused him of being a juvenile delinquent, you'd know that the reason the other boy was teasing him was because he couldn't stop talking about his little sister's birthday party."

"Ohhh…shit, I am _such_ an asshole."

"No you're not." Spencer grinned wistfully and smoothed back a lock of Ashley's red-streaked hair. "You're just hormonal. Hi, been there."

"I'm unfit to raise a family. All three of you…four of you," she corrected, touching her stomach—"would be better off without me." She sat down on the couch and buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, okay. Do I have to remind you how much 'better off' we were when you were gone on your last world tour?" There was a long pause where Spencer just tapped her foot, and Ashley was silent.

"Well…" Ashley finally looked up with a small, sly grin. "I guess I do have my charms." Spencer just smirked back, and without a word leaned into Ashley and kissed her.

"Yes, you do," she agreed. "Now go talk to your son." Spencer turned Ashley's shoulders toward the staircase. Ashley leaped forward in surprise when Spencer slapped her on the butt to get her moving.

"Okay, jeez! I'm going."


	13. Party Time!

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 13**

**By JewWitch**

Ashley knocked lightly on Jackson's bedroom door. When there was no response, she opened the door and walked in, to find her son lying dejectedly across his bed, face-down, with his stuffed monkey over his head. Out of nowhere, a flash-forward image popped into her head of this same scene, but with the old stuffed monkey replaced by a pair of stereo headphones, on a taller child. In six more years, he'd be a brooding teenager. _Not like I've got any insight into what that feels like_, Ashley thought with the smallest hint of a smirk. _One day at a time, Davies._

"Hey." She sat down on the edge of the bed, and laid a warm hand on her son's leg.

"I'm sorry I ruined Elly's birthday," He mumbled, without picking up his head.

"Baby, you didn't ruin anything," Ashley said soothingly. "And I'm the one who should be sorry." Jackson finally lifted his head, shifting around with a confused expression on his tearstained face.

"Why?" Ashley smiled a little sadly, and gave the small leg under her hand a squeeze.

"Well, sweetie, this might be a little confusing for you, but…it wasn't really you I was mad at downstairs."

"Yes it was." Jackson looked more confused than ever, but at least his melodramatic brooding seemed to have been cracked by curiosity; he sat up on the bed to face Ashley, his small brow wrinkled in bewildered concentration as he gave her the same "I have no idea what you're talking about right now, but I'm willing to listen" face that Spencer had shown her a million times before.

"No…it wasn't." Ashley shook her head, reaching out to smooth a few strands of the little boy's messy brown hair back. "See, when I was growing up, I had a mom who never liked me very much…"

"Yeah, I know." Ashley raised her eyebrows in surprise; sure she hadn't yet had this conversation with her oldest child. "Mama told me the reason we never see Grandma Davies is 'cause she's always mean to you."

"Uh, yeah," Ashley snorted, with a small chuckle. "That's one way to say it. Well, when I was your age, I got into a lot of fights, too—and my mom would always say how I was a bad kid, how much I embarrassed her, how she was going to send me off to juvie if I didn't start acting like a proper little girl."

"Did she ever do it—send you away?"

"Nah," Ashley waved a hand dismissively, trying to mask the old sorrow in her expression. "That just would've drawn more attention to how messed up our family was. But the point, sweetie, is that when Mama and I decided to start our family, I knew I never wanted to be like my mom—the kind of mom who made her kids so mad, they have to go out and get in fights to express how they feel."

"But that's not why I—"

"I know, Jackie, I know. But that's just it. When you grow up, a part of you that's deep inside always feels like a little kid, no matter how old you get. When I saw you with that black eye, I just felt so scared that it was my fault. Like maybe my mom was right after all, and I'm a bad role model for you."

"She _wasn't _right!" Jackson exclaimed fiercely. "You're the best mommy in the whole world!" Ashley smiled a little sadly, and Jackson climbed into her arms, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Thank you, baby," Ashley murmured, kissing the top of his head. "But you need to know that the only reason I got so mad downstairs was, I was scared that if people saw you looking all beat up, they'd think it was my fault; that I was just a bad person who didn't know how to take care of you, and if Mama was smart she wouldn't even want me around you."

"But we DO want you around!" Jackson cried, getting a little more worked up. "We're not a family without you, Mommy. And we don't care what anybody else thinks, anyway!"

"If that's true, then why did you punch Sam for calling you a sissy-boy?" Ashley asked gently. Jackson opened his mouth; then faltered, knowing there was no right answer, and gave a little shrug, examining his hands again. "Listen," Ashley continued gently, taking his hands in her own so he'd look at her. "It's natural to care about what other people think…we all want to be liked, that's part of being human. But some people will _never_ see you for who you really are, no matter how hard you try to show them. And in the end, you just have to decide if that person is worth all the trouble."

"Like Grandma Davies," Jack said slowly, resting comfortably in Ashley's lap now, his big brown eyes looking up at her with understanding.

"Yeah," Ashley nodded.

"And Sam from my soccer team," he added gravely.

"And anyone else who thinks they know who you are, without really bothering to get to know you at all," Ashley finished, hugging the child in her arms tightly. They stayed that way for a minute without talking.

"So I can still come to the party, right?" The hopeful little voice made Ashley laugh out loud.

"Come? You're on hosting duty, mister! C'mon, let's go help Mama get all the streamers up in the yard before the pony gets here."

"Okay." Jackson was grinning broadly as he jumped off the bed, scampering down the hall and shouting, "Mama! We're ready to help now!" Ashley trailed behind, savoring the warm, happy feeling in her stomach as she skipped down the stairs. She stood in the doorway looking out onto the back yard for a minute, watching Jackson handing purple streamers up to Spencer at the top of the ladder, while Ella ran around them with a long piece of torn-off streamer fluttering behind her, calling ecstatically after her brother to chase her. After a minute, he abandoned his post and took off after her, and both children were off and running, shrieking with delight.

"Need a hand, gorgeous?" Ashley leaned up against the tree, holding out a fresh roll of streamers and looking up at Spencer with her trademark coy smirk.

"Well thank you." Spencer grinned back, and climbed back down to the ground, leaning into Ashley for a gentle kiss. "I take it all is well in the universe again?"

"Yeah, I think I managed to ward off turning our son into a serial killer for at least another day."

"Well that's a load off my mind," Spencer said wryly, playing with a lock of Ashley's hair, while Ashley's hands ran up her back under her shirt.

"Mmm," Ashley agreed, leaning into Spencer for another slightly longer kiss, pulling Spencer's hips into her own until she felt the rough bark of the tree digging into her back.

"Ash…" Spencer whimpered, pulling her bottom lip out of Ashley's teeth. "We can't do this now…"

"I know," Ashley agreed absently, and kissed her again, making Spencer push back against her even harder.

"Ashley!" Spencer whined. "People are gonna be here any…uh, any…" Ashley bit Spencer's earlobe. "Any…minute…" Spencer murmured, her fingers digging into Ashley's hair.

"Ahem." They both froze. "Oh, don't stop on my account, chicas. Nothing says "two-year-old's birthday party" like some good, hot, up-against-a-tree action."

"Hey, Madison," Spencer grinned sheepishly, her cheeks going bright red as she pulled herself away from Ashley's roaming hands.

"'Sup," Ashley winked, making no move to extricate herself from her snug position between Spencer and the tree.

"Ai, you two! Am I gonna have to turn the hose on you? Because Glen is just getting the cake out of the car, and I don't think any of us want him to see this."

"We'll be good," Ashley rolled her eyes. "Help Spence finish this, will ya? I'm gonna go get the tablecloths."

"Ok, horndog," Madison smirked. As soon as Ashley walked away, Madison handed Spencer a fresh roll of streamers, and said, "Seriously, Spencer, you should really talk to someone about these problems you and Ash are having. Your marriage is _obviously_ on the rocks."

"Ha ha," Spencer said sarcastically, but couldn't stop the huge grin that spread across her face. "I'm almost afraid to say this, cause whenever things are this good, I always think that something terrible is about to happen…but you know what? Fuck it. I'm happy!"

"Spencer!" Glen appeared around the gate, carrying an enormous birthday cake and another bag dangling from his arm besides. "You're my baby sister, I do _not_ need to be hearing you say _fuck_."

"Thanks for bringing the cake, doofus."

"You're welcome, butt-face."

"Ladies and gentleman, the father of my child," Madison said dryly.

"Speaking of, where's Ana?" Spencer asked, looking behind Glen for her eight-year-old niece.

"With Chels, coming from the studio. She's really getting into that painting class," Glen remarked, shaking his head. "If she turns out to be an artist, it sure as hell didn't come from me."

"Unca Gwen!" Ella squealed, running toward her tall uncle and shrieking with laughter when he scooped her up into the air. They had just finished getting all the streamers up and the tables decorated when the pony and its handler arrived; then soon enough guests started pouring in. Spencer was so busy playing hostess, it took her almost forty minutes to notice that Ashley had never come back outside. Trusting on the many watchful eyes milling around her yard to keep the party running smoothly for a few moments, she slipped through the sliding doors and wandered into the house.

"Ash?" She called out, jogging up the stairs when she heard no reply. "Aaaashleeeey," she sang out teasingly, faltering when she swung open her bedroom door to find Ashley curled up in the center of the bed, with her knees pulled up and a pillow over her head. "Baby, what's the matter?" She kicked her shoes off and crawled into bed, pulling Ashley's head into her lap. Ashley groaned, but didn't open her eyes.

"I just need a few more minutes, Spence," she whimpered, eyes still closed. "Then I'll come help you, I promise."

"Honey, I don't care about that! What's wrong with you?" Spencer asked urgently, lightly rubbing Ashley's back with one hand.

"I think I have…afternoon morning sickness, or something. I just started feeling dizzy all of a sudden…thought I'd lie down for…a minute…now I'm just trying not to hurl." Ashley pressed her face into Spencer's knee, grabbing a handful of her jeans and groaning in pain.

"It's okay, baby, shhh…I'm right here," Spencer soothed, keeping up her gentle backrub and leaning down to kiss Ashley's cheek.

"But you have to go back to the party," Ashley whined, curling up tighter. "One of us has to be all…hostessy."

"In a minute," Spencer murmured, not moving. "Right now I'm taking care of my pregnant wife."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Ashley groaned, opening her eyes a crack with a grateful expression. "Will you do the tummy thing?" Without another word, Spencer curled up behind Ashley and wrapped both arms around her waist, laying her warm palms flat against Ashley's stomach and leaving them there.

"Better?" Spencer whispered.

"Mmm," Ashley mumbled. They stayed wrapped together silently on the bed for a few minutes before a voice, Kyla's, came floating up the stairs.

"Ash? Spencer? Madison said it's time to bring out the cake!" Ashley groaned.

"It's okay Ash, the cake can wait."

"No, you should go. It could be an hour before I stop feeling like the room is spinning…we can't make Elly wait that long. Or all the other kids."

"But baby…"

"Just go, Spence…and take lots of pictures."

"Okay…but I want it noted that I am agreeing under duress and coercion." Spencer sat up and pulled her hands out from under Ashley's shirt, looking thoroughly miserable.

"Hey, don't pout," Ashley complained, pulling a pillow into her newly empty arms and curling herself up around it. "I'm the one who should be pouting."

"I'm sorry, Ash. I just hate for you to miss out on this." Spencer smiled a little sadly, and leaned down for a very gentle kiss.

"Join the club," Ashley muttered darkly. Though she hated to do it, Spencer left Ashley whimpering on their bed, and went downstairs to sing "Happy Birthday" to her daughter. Madison and Kyla had already taken the cake out of the box and put in all the candles, so all Spencer had to do was light them. When her sisters-in-law asked where Ashley was, Spencer lied and said she had a migraine.

After the cake was presented and the candles blown out, Spencer made sure she got plenty of good pictures of Ella's delighted expression as she licked the frosting off the enormous "2" candle, smears of chocolate decorating her chubby cheeks.

"Mama, where's Mommy?" Jackson whined, not as easily distracted by chocolate as his little sister.

"I told you, honey. Mommy has a headache, and she's just taking a little nap."

"Maybe Grandma Paula should go make sure she's okay," Jackson frowned, pushing his cake moodily around the paper plate. "She must really be sick to miss cake and ice cream."

"Who's too sick for ice cream?" Paula asked, having just come up behind Spencer for her own plate.

"Mommy's sick, Grandma. She threw up this morning, and now she's lying down."

"It's fine, Mom, it's nothing serious," Spencer said nervously, never having perfected the art of lying to her parents. "I'm sure she'll be down before the party's over."

"Well, it couldn't hurt to…" Paula motioned toward the house, and Spencer knew from experience that her mother had no problem leaving the party for an impromptu medical exam.

"Mom, please. That's _really_ not necessary." Spencer crossed her arms nervously, and Paula stared at her daughter's anxious expression silently until Spencer cracked, grabbing her mother's arm and pulling her into the house. "Listen," she hissed when the door was closed, "have you heard of this thing called privacy? It's all the rage now." Paula smirked knowingly, and crossed her own arms with a smug expression.

"Okay, Spencer, I hear you. But you _will_ be making an announcement soon, I hope…?"

"Of course. And you _have_ to act surprised!" Paula's eyes filled with tears as she threw her arms around her daughter.

"Oh, sweetheart! I'm so happy for you both." They were still hugging when Ashley appeared in the kitchen, one hand on her stomach, walking the slow, shuffling walk of someone trying with all their might not to throw up.

"Baby, what are you doing down here? You don't look like you're feeling any better."

"I just wanted to get some ginger ale," Ashley said slowly, sitting down on a kitchen stool and putting her head down on the counter.

"I'll get it," Spencer murmured, rubbing Ashley's back for a moment before scooting around the island to the fridge for the requested stomach-pacifying beverage.

"Hi Mom," Ashley mumbled listlessly, peeking out from where her head lay against her arms.

"Hi sweetheart," Paula said warmly, patting her daughter-in-law on the back sympathetically. "I'm sorry you're not feeling well. And on Ella's big day!"

"Yeah, well." Ashley shrugged, then groaned. "Oh, bad idea…"

"Here you go, bunny." Spencer handed over the ginger ale with a kiss.

"Just because I'm about to throw up all over the kitchen floor does _not_ mean it's okay for you to call me that in front of your mom," Ashley glowered, shooting Spencer an ugly glower.

"Oh, Ashley, please," Paula smirked knowingly. "I think we're well past that stage of modesty, and besides, I was just on my way back out. I need some pictures of all the Carlin grandchildren together for the family scrapbook." Spencer shot her mother a warning glare as she beamed at them, which even Ashley couldn't miss.

"You told her, didn't you?"

"Spencer didn't say a word," Paula assured the glowering brunette, with a pacifying pat on the shoulder. "I _have_ been a doctor for over thirty years, you know. I can only play dumb for so long." Spencer bit her lip, unsure of how Ashley would react to this news in her current unhappy state.

"Okay, okay, you win! I'm pregnant." Paula squealed like a fourteen-year-old at her first rock concert, and threw her arms around both girls, pulling them together and bouncing up and down. "About to puke here!" Ashley exclaimed hotly.

"Sorry, sorry." Paula backed off, beaming at the pair of them with a misty, grandmotherly expression in her blue eyes, still identical to Spencer's and Ella's. "I'm just so happy for you girls…another beautiful baby is joining our family! When's the due date? Have you had a sonogram? Do the kids know?"

"June 28th, yes we've had a sonogram, and no the kids don't know, so please don't say anything!" Spencer exclaimed, a touch of frustration entering her voice since she'd just had this conversation with her mother roughly three minutes ago.

"Right, I'm cool! It's on the _down low_," Paula said proudly, using air quotes when she said "down low" to prove she knew how to use the slang term correctly. Ashley groaned, and Spencer pressed her hand over her eyes. Paula was too far gone in baby-bliss to notice these less than stoic reactions, and merely kissed them both, prancing out the door with her camera in hand, humming "Hush Little Baby" under her breath.

"So I guess that's the end of keeping it quiet," Ashley said finally, taking a small sip of her ginger ale.

"Ash, I am so, _so_ sorry." Spencer's face was rapidly draining of color, and Ashley wondered if she was about to throw up, too.

"Eh," Ashley shrugged. "If you think about it…it's pretty cool." Spencer looked at her quizzically, still pale and bewildered. "I mean, imagine if high school us were here now to see this…like, instead of our big problem being your mom wanting to ship me off to Gitmo on war crime charges for daring to touch you, our big problem is how happy she is for us that we're having another baby. And this one won't even be carrying on her genes." Spencer laughed, and a little color flooded back into her cheeks.

"Have I told you lately how totally, completely awesome you are?" Spencer walked over to Ashley's stool and planted herself between the brunette's legs, wrapping both arms around her shoulders, while Ashley wound her arms around Spencer's waist as rested there for a moment.

"Not in the last fifteen minutes." Sifting her fingers through Ashley's hair, Spencer tilted her face up, and they locked eyes, the same goofy-happy grin on both their faces. "Spence, I—"

"MAMA!" Ella's high-pitched shriek pierced the air. The goofy grin they shared slid into a sardonic smirk, as Ashley slipped off her stool and stood up.

"I think that's our cue to get back to the party," she sighed, squeezing Spencer's hand and pulling her toward the sliding doors to the back yard.

"Sure you're up for it?" Spencer cocked her head.

"Sure I'm sure," Ashley beamed at her beautiful wife, and pulled her in for one long, teasing kiss.

"That's…hmm…pretty sure…" Spencer mumbled, her goofy grin hitched back into place. Ashley laughed and shook her head.

"C'mon, bunny." Together, they slipped back outside to join the party.


	14. School Notices

Hey Peeps!

so don't get too used to this update-every-day thing; I am TOTALLY using this story to avoid my anxiety about finishing school right now! But obviously can't do that indefinitely. So, just enjoy while it lasts I guess. And thanx for all the groovy feedback!

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 14**

**By JewWitch**

"Honey, we're home!" Ashley was in the kitchen cutting up carrot sticks for Ella when Spencer's voice echoed down the hallway, and Jackson came galloping into the kitchen, dropping his backpack and coat on the floor as he made his way to the fridge at top speed.

"Hey buddy, aren't you forgetting something?" she asked pointedly, raising one eyebrow at the mess on the floor. Jackson rolled his eyes, but abandoned his snack-quest long enough to pick up his stuff and hang it over a chair by the counter. "Thank you," she said graciously, going over to the little boy and kissing his head as he rooted around in the fridge. "How's the cold today?" She slipped her hand down over his forehead to check his temperature, though he was obviously feeling better if the pile of snacks in his arms was any indicator.

"Eh," he shrugged. "I'm okay." Shutting the fridge, he hoisted his assortment of yogurt, string cheese, and apples more securely in his arms, and made for the living room.

"Take these to your sister, will you?" Ashley placed the cup of carrot sticks on top of the pile, receiving another eye roll in return. He was just leaving the room when Spencer appeared from the front hall, looking exhausted. "Hi bunny," Ashley grinned warmly. "You look wiped. Bad day for mental health in Los Angeles?"

"I'd rate it about a 9.5 on the crazy-o-meter," Spencer smiled sardonically, collapsing into a chair at the counter. "The freaking holidays just make everybody so neurotic! Thank God I'm off till after Christmas." They smiled at each other, and Ashley came around the counter, leaning over her growing stomach to give Spencer a kiss.

"No, don't kiss me," Spencer squeaked, leaning back in her chair. "I think I'm getting Jack's cold."

"Jeez, why not just stick with the old standby, 'not now, honey, I've got a headache'?" Ashley scowled, crossing her arms sulkily and leaning against the counter.

"Ash! I'm just trying to protect you and the baby." Spencer slipped a hand out, and gently rubbed Ashley's slightly rounded tummy.

"I didn't realize we were both in such dire danger from the common cold," Ashley grumbled, still pouting, and refusing to meet Spencer's eyes.

"Baby, come on. When I was pregnant with Jackie and you got the flu, you slept on the couch for a week."

"Well, the flu can cause serious pregnancy complications," Ashley grumbled, still staring determinedly at the floor.

"Which is why I'd already _had_ a flu shot, and couldn't catch it anyway."

"So you're saying I was being as dumb then as you are now?" Ashley asked, finally looking up with a little smirk. Spencer sighed, and found herself smirking unwillingly back.

"Oh, come here…" Beaming, Ashley wrapped her arms around Spencer's neck and kissed her thoroughly.

"That's what I'm talking about," Ashley murmured playfully. Spencer snickered, then turned her head away from Ashley and sneezed into her hands. "Aw, bless you honey." Ashley reached out and felt Spencer's forehead, just as she had done with Jackson a moment ago.

"I don't have a fever, Ash, it's just a cold." Spencer sniffed, pulling a tissue out of her pocket to wipe her nose.

"Well you're still getting O.J. with dinner," Ashley frowned, satisfied for the moment with her forehead-check, but still inspecting her wife's face closely. "I don't want you sick for Christmas."

"Me neither," Spencer shrugged, yawning. Ashley ran a hand through the golden-blond hair beside her, and planted a soft kiss on her temple.

"Mommmmmy!" Jackson's cranky voice floated down the hall. "Elly's got boogers all over her face, and we're all out of Kleenex!" They looked at each other and sighed.

"I got this, Spence. Why don't you go catch a cat nap? I'll call you when dinner's ready."

"Yeah, that sounds good…you are _so_ in your nesting phase right now," Spencer grinned sleepily, rubbing Ashley's stomach with her Kleenex-free hand. "Mommy takes such good care of us, doesn't she?" She playfully addressed her unborn child.

"Okay, get out of here," Ashley laughed, swatting Spencer on the butt as she slipped off her stool.

"Love you," Spencer murmured, turning her head for one last kiss before she left the room.

"Love you too," Ashley winked. Sighing happily, she turned and unzipped Jackson's backpack, preparing to separate homework from discarded lunch items and gym clothes. She heard Spencer sneeze again on her way up the stairs.

"Jackie, homework time in fifteen minutes!" She called, dumping everything out on the kitchen counter. On top of the pile was a notice printed on bright pink paper, always a sign of something that needed a parent's attention. As she pulled it toward her, the words MEDICAL ALERT FOR ALL VALLEY VIEW FAMILIES jumped out from the top of the page. For a few moments she stood there frozen, her eyes going over the words several times without really taking them in. A stab of dizziness made her realize she hadn't taken a breath since she started reading, and she gasped, sitting down heavily in the chair Spencer had just vacated. For a moment she just sat there trembling; then she grabbed the phone.

"Hello, I need to speak to Dr. Carlin immediately…this is her daughter-in-law Ashley. Yes, it's a family emergency." Those weren't words that Ashley used lightly, and when Paula's voice came on a moment later, she sounded almost as freaked as Ashley felt.

"Ashley? What's wrong?"

"Have you ever heard of something called…" she looked back at the pink sheet. "Fifth disease?"

"Oh." Paula's sigh of relief made Ashley's heart unclench slightly. "Honey, that's nothing to worry about. It's a mild childhood virus, basically just a cold with a scary-looking rash, and it almost never leads to complications. Do the kids have it?"

"I don't know…maybe," Ashley frowned, re-reading the notice again. "There's this note from Jack's school, and it says there's been an outbreak of Fifth disease in his class, and to look for a bright red rash like slapped cheeks. It also has a pregnancy warning." Ashley was on the brink of hyperventilating at this point.

"Ashley, honey, I want you to calm down." Paula's voice was even and reassuring on the other end of the phone, but Ashley's heart still hammered in her chest, her free hand cradling her stomach as if to protect the baby from some invisible threat. "There _is_ a small chance of complications for the baby if you catch it, but the odds of that are pretty slim. You might've had it when you were young and not known it, in which case you'd be immune now; and anyway, do either of the kids have a rash?"

"No, but Jack's had a cold all week, and now Spencer has it, and I think Ella too. The note says it starts with cold-like symptoms."

"Or they might just have a cold," Paula reminded her sensibly. "How long has Jack been sick?"

"Um…four days," Ashley said, closing her eyes as she counted back in her head.

"All right. If it's Fifth's, you'll see a bright red rash on the kids' cheeks within a week. In the meantime, you should come in for a blood test; that way we can find out if you've been exposed, or if you're already immune. Then you can stop worrying."

"What about Spence? She could have it, too."

"It's a very mild virus, Ashley," Paula reminded her again. "The only one with any real chance of complications is you."

"Oh, great, that's exactly what I wanted to hear…" Ashley's heart felt like it was leaping up into her throat with every beat.

"In all likelihood, you and the baby are going to be just fine, sweetheart, I promise you. Even if you do catch it, there's about a 90% chance that everything will be normal."

"And the other 10%?" Ashley demanded.

"The other 10% is the chance of miscarriage," Paula admitted.

"Um, okay…I think I'm gonna pass out…"

"Sit down and breathe, for God's sake. Is Spencer there with you?"

"Upstairs, taking a nap," Ashley said quietly, her panic settling into an ice-cold ball in her chest.

"Well you just go wake her up, and the two of you come down to the hospital right now for a blood test. I'll call Arthur and send him over to stay with the kids. With any luck, we'll straighten this whole thing out tonight, okay?"

"Oh…okay." Ashley hung up the phone and wandered up the stairs in a daze, the bright pink school notice still clutched in her hand. The light from the hall spilled into the bedroom when she opened the door, illuminating the steady, sleeping breath of the still figure in the bed.

"Spence? Spencer, wake up," Ashley said stiffly, shaking her shoulder a little roughly. Spencer whined and rolled over.

"Five more…minutes…" She mumbled, her soft voice more asleep than awake.

"Spencer, wake _up!"_ Ashley snapped, making the blonde jerk upright with a start, as if a bucket of ice water had just been thrown over her.

"What?" She blinked dazedly, with a cough. Ashley leapt back like she'd been jolted with live electricity. "Jesus, Ash, it's not the plague," she grumbled. Ashley leaned against the wall, slid down to the floor, and burst into tears.


	15. Worst Christmas Present Ever

**Into The Morning**

**Chapter 15**

**By JewWitch**

"Okay, girls, I've got your results." Paula strode briskly into the exam room where Spencer and Ashley sat, bolt-upright in their hard plastic chairs with wide, frightened eyes. "The good news is that Ashley's test was negative."

"Thank God," Spencer sighed, while Ashley just slumped forward in her chair, releasing a huge breath while her hands went automatically to her stomach.

"What's the bad news?" Ashley asked tremulously, still not looking up.

"The _slightly less_ _good_ news," Paula pressed on, "is that you're not immune, and Spencer's test came back positive-- which means the kids are, too. As I said before, there's no real danger for the three of you, and the virus should run its course in the next seven to ten days. But for Ashley and the baby, the safest course of action would really be to get you out of the house until then. Maybe stay with your sister in Santa Monica?" Paula offered this suggestion in a casual, upbeat fashion, in stark opposition to Spencer and Ashley's horrified faces.

"But…but tomorrow's Christmas Eve!" Ashley exclaimed, fresh tears springing unbidden to her eyes.

"I know, honey." Paula squeezed her hands reassuringly. "But this is the best way to protect the baby." Ashley looked bleakly from Paula back to Spencer, who was nodding along stoically with her mother's advice, though Ashley saw her lower lip tremble.

"Well…okay, wait a minute. You said that even if I do get exposed to it, there's still a 90% chance that everything will be fine." Ashley backpedaled desperately, even while her hands slipped unconsciously back her stomach.

"Yes, the odds are very much in your favor. But as your doctor, I have to be very clear about all the possibilities. Since you're still in your first trimester, the risk of complications is higher than it would be if you were further along. If the infection were to pass through the placenta at this stage, it could disrupt the production of red blood cells, which could cause a serious form of fetal anemia; which in turn could cause heart failure." Ashley shook her head, and buried her face in her hands.

"Ash, it's okay," Spencer said softly, speaking up for the first time, a little hoarsely. "Go be with Kyla. The kids and I will be fine."

"How can I do that to you, Spence? I can't just leave you alone when you're all sick! And on Christmas??"

"Baby, I know this sucks," Spencer sniffed, blinking back her tears with a brave-little-toaster smile. "But we're all okay, and that's what's important. Nobody is seriously ill here, and that's the way we want to keep it." Ashley took a deep gulp of air, determined not to make Spencer feel guilty by crying, and reached out for her; but Spencer shrank back in her chair.

"Spence, you can't give Ashley your germs just by hugging her," Paula reminded her gently.

"I know, but…" Spencer's voice trailed off as she turned her whole body away from Ashley in her chair, pressing both hands firmly over her face to cover an irrepressible sneeze.

"Bless you, sweetheart." Paula handed her daughter a box of tissues from the exam table.

"Ash…" Spencer sniffed when she'd finished blowing her nose. "Please go to Kyla's. If anything happened to the baby, I'd never forgive myself. And neither would you." Ashley opened her mouth to protest again, but no words came out.

"…Okay," she finally agreed, swallowing back her tears as best she could. "But I want it noted that I am agreeing under duress and coercion." They smiled sadly at each other, as Ashley echoed Spencer's words from Ella's birthday party just a few weeks ago.

"I know," Spencer nodded. "Don't be sad on Christmas, okay?" Ashley quietly agreed, thinking silently that Spencer's last request was just about impossible.

When Kyla opened her door, she was greeted by the sight of a sobbing Ashley, flanked by two expensive-looking suitcases. "Hi," she choked out through her tears. "Merry Christmas."

"Aw, Ash!" Kyla flung her arms around her sister, who returned the hug fiercely, all her sublimated need for physical comfort coming out in a rush. Not being able to touch Spencer when she was upset had been almost as bad as the terror of losing the baby.

"I'm really s-sorry about all this, Ky," Ashley sniffed.

"Honey, please. What are sisters for?" Kyla picked up one of Ashley's suitcases, and began dragging it inside, a sniffling Ashley close behind. "Now," Kyla said authoritatively as she stood in the middle of the living room, "You know what we really need to get the Christmas spirit in here?" Ashley raised an eyebrow mutely. "Cocktails."

"_Ky_la!" Ashley rolled her eyes, and suddenly they were both laughing their heads off, collapsing onto the rug in an adolescent fit of hysterics. After a few minutes, Ashley looked up, took a deep breath, and sighed. "Thanks, baby sis. I so totally needed that."

"Anytime, hon." Kyla grinned and ruffled Ashley's loose hair. "I've got instructions from Spencer not to let you mope around here like a prison inmate." Ashley rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"She called you?"

"Uh-huh," Kyla poked Ashley in the side, in a see-it's-not-so-bad sort of gesture. "She said that if you start to get all worked up over leaving them, I should remind you that you've gone on two world tours in the past five years, and if she could handle that, then ten days was no big."

"But that was—"

"Different?" Kyla interjected. Ashley nodded. "She also said to remind you that they're not really that sick, _and_ she's on vacation from work anyway, _and_ she's got Chelsea and her parents on call till everybody's better."

"Boy," Ashley muttered, leaning back against her suitcase with a sigh. "You two have really got a whole battle-plan thing going here."

"Duh." Kyla grinned, and threw her arms around Ashley's shoulders again. "That's because we love you!" Ashley grinned a little sheepishly, and kissed her sister on the cheek. "And you," Kyla addressed Ashley's stomach, leaning down close to her sister's raised bellybutton. "You get to spend your first Christmas with Auntie Kyla! And I promise, as soon as you come out and start talking, I'll buy you all the presents your mommies won't let you have."

Spencer, Jackson and Ella were all cuddled up in the big bed watching "Finding Nemo" when the phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, Spencer slipped out from between the kids and padded into the hall before answering.

"Hey, baby," she said warmly. "How's things at Kyla's?"

"We're good, but never mind that. How are you and the tater tots?" Spencer giggled, remembering how Ashley had addressed their kids this way when they were babies.

"We're fine, honey. We're just having a movie night, and I told them they could sleep with me in the big bed tonight."

"Everybody fever-free?" Ashley pressed on, reminding Spencer a bit freakishly of her own mother, but in a not-so-creepy way.

"The kids are both 98.6," she said evasively.

"And what about you?" Ashley prodded, fully aware of the omission.

"I'm really okay, Ash."

"Are you 98.6 okay?"

"Eh…not exactly. But you know me, it'll blow over…"

"Spencer, I am not getting off this phone until you tell me what your temperature is."

"Okay, okay," Spencer rolled her eyes, secretly enjoying Ashley's microscopic attention to her wellbeing. "100.2"

"Poor thing! Well, okay, I guess that's not _so_ bad…how do you feel otherwise? And do _not_ say 'okay,' or I will beat you with a rubber hose." Spencer giggled again, then abruptly started to cough.

"Ooh, sorry." She paused to wipe her nose. "I guess I feel like I have a bug, Ash. I'm just tired, stuffed up, and a little achy."

"I wish I could come home and take care of you," Ashley sighed, a melancholic edge cutting through their playful banter.

"Me too," Spencer admitted, stifling a yawn. "But we'll be okay, bunny. Promise."

"I know you will," Ashley said, her guilt at not being there giving way to her confidence in Spencer's ability to ask for help when she needed it. "I just can't stand that we're not gonna be together on Christmas."

"I know, it completely blows…and I had something sorta special planned for us, too."

"You did?" Ashley immediately perked up. "What is it?"

"Let's just say, you've got one present coming that was intended to be opened the night before, 'cause it's _definitely_ not suitable for unwrapping in front of everyone under the tree."

"Aww…I'm missing out on kinky Christmas Eve sex?!" Ashley cried despondently. "Why would you even _tell_ me that?"

"I'm just trying to give you something to look forward to," Spencer said sweetly.

"Yeah, well, mission accomplished. I don't know if you've noticed this, Spence, but I'm not exactly known for my patience. How about a little hint…?"

"Hmmm, okay…there might be…outfits involved."

"Oh yeah?" Ashley's grin was now a mile wide. "Well aren't you a cute little perv. What kind of outfits?"

"Well you'll just have to wait and…" Ashley wasn't sure why Spencer had stopped teasing her so abruptly, till she heard a sharp breath and a muffled sneeze.

"Bless you, sweetie," Ashley giggled.

"Thanks_…*sniff*…_I guess now's not the best time for this conversation."

"Why, are the kids listening?!"

"Ew, no, I'm in the hall!" Spencer exclaimed, outraged. "I just meant, I don't feel too…" She sneezed again. "Too sexy right now," she finished, with a sniffle.

"Aw, bunny…you are _the_ sexiest girl on the whole freakin' planet, even with a runny nose." Ashley grinned widely at the sound of Spencer's laughter.

"Thanks, dork."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Dork. Will you put the kids on?"

"Sure, babe. Hold on…" After a momentary pause, Ella's little voice came flooding through the receiver.

"Mommy?"

"Hi babycakes," Ashley said warmly. "How are you doing?"

"In your bed!" Ella squealed, her happiness at this special treat obviously outweighing any discomfort from her illness. "We watch Nemo!"

"That sounds so fun," Ashley smiled sadly.

"Yeah, fun!" Ella agreed. "Mommy come home soon, otay?"

"Okay, sweetie. I love you."

"Wov you." Ella coughed, a tiny, rattling sound that completely broke Ashley's heart. "Mewwy Cwissmas, Mommy." Before Ashley had a chance to respond to this, the two-year-old had apparently reached the end of her phone-holding attention span, and passed the phone off to her brother.

"Hi Mommy, I miss you." Jackson's voice sounded significantly less cheerful than his sister's, which didn't surprise Ashley at all. Ella hardly knew what Christmas was, so she couldn't feel betrayed that one of her moms wouldn't be there for it.

"I miss you too, monkey. I'm sending you a big hug right now."

"Me too. Mommy, is the baby okay?"

"The baby is absolutely, totally okay, Jacksie. How about you?"

"My face is all red. It doesn't hurt, though. Mama said I look like one of Santa's little helpers." Ashley put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

"You know who needs a helper right now, even more than Santa?" She asked, struck by a sudden inspiration of how to cheer her little boy up, and make sure someone was keeping an eye on Spencer, too.

"Who?"

"Mama does, that's who. Can you make sure to be extra-good, and listen to everything she tells you while I'm gone?"

"Okay…don't worry, Mommy. I'll take real good care of Mama, promise."

"You are the awesomest seven-year-old boy on the planet." Ashley grinned hugely when she heard laughter through the receiver.

"What if...well, what if there's life discovered on another planet, and, and there's an awesomer seven-year-old kid there?"

"Nope, couldn't happen—not a chance."

Though Spencer didn't usually think of herself as a particularly light sleeper, having both kids sick in bed with her all night kicked all her subconscious maternal instincts into hyperdrive, and she woke instantly whenever either of them coughed or whimpered in their sleep. And once she was awake, it was hard to fall asleep again, between her own coughs and sneezes and sweaty fever chills. She wished she could just swallow a mouthful of NyQuil and pass out; but what if one of the kids woke feeling worse, and needed her? Finally, at 2:45 am, she reached for the phone; after 4 rings, Ashley picked up.

"What'sa matter, baby?" The brunette mumbled, groggy but awake.

"Ash, I can't sleep," Spencer whined, so exhausted she felt like crying. "I just needed to hear your voice."

"Poor baby, you don't sound good at all. Want me to call Chels, or your mom? They could be over there in 20 minutes."

"No, s'okay," Spencer sniffed, pushing her hair back off her hot face so it spilled across the pillow. "Will you just sing to me for a few minutes?"

"Aw, sure bunny…" Ashley yawned. "Thinking of you, yeah I'll think of you all day," she sang quietly, eyes closed, smiling in the darkness. "Think of your kiss kissing my lips…I'll remember this always…" By the time she got to the end of the song, there was no sound coming from the other end. "Spence?" she murmured.

"Mm-hmm," came the soft reply.

"Hang up the phone," Ashley whispered.

"Mm-hmm," Spencer mumbled again. Once she was sure she'd heard Spencer's phone click, Ashley flipped her cell shut, smiling softly, and placed it back beside her pillow. …Just in case.


	16. Christmas with the Carlins

Hiya, peeps!

Well here we are, post-finale...no more South. It's sad. Even though I thought the whole second half of season 3 was, how can I say this...kind of lame!-- I still didn't want to see it end. It was obvious that the N was putting a lot of pressure on the show to be more PG, which makes sense since the reason they decided to cancel it was so they could become a "tween" rather than a teen network...it just sucks that we never got another decent make-out scene-- or even a decent kiss!-- in all of season 3B. Here's hoping that in another 10 years, having a queer couple in a mainstream teen drama won't be considered controversial anymore...and in the meantime, we have fanfic to console ourselves with :)

All of which is to say...this chapter might be a little higher than average in the cheese-factor. I'm sure you all won't mind too much, tho ;) enjoy!

Love, JewWitch

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 16**

**By JewWitch**

Spencer woke the next morning shivering and covered in sweat, with a raw, scratchy feeling in her throat and a stabbing pain behind her eyes. All she wanted to do was crawl into Ashley's lap, to be kissed and cuddled and told it was all okay, and that she didn't have to worry about anything. But the bed beside her was cold and empty…which meant the kids were already up, and she needed to go check on them.

"You have to get up," she grumbled to herself, trying to be stern. But the problem with trying to tell yourself what to do is, you pretty much know when you're bluffing. She tried Ashley's headache trick, and pressed one hand against the front of her head and one against the back, squeezing as hard as she could. It helped for a second…but not as much as when Ashley did it. With a groan, Spencer curled up around her pillow, and started to cry. It made her head hurt even worse, but she couldn't help it; she just felt so miserable.

"Mama?" Jackson's pajama-clad body appeared by the bed, and quickly slipped under the covers to hug her. "Don't cry, Mama, it's Christmas!"

"I know, baby…I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He patted the top of her head, and kissed her on the cheek. "Are you crying because you don't feel good, or 'cause you miss Mommy?" Spencer wiped her eyes and looked up at the concerned face of her little boy, reaching a hand out to stroke his bright-red cheek with a sad smile.

"Both," she admitted.

"Well…I don't know if it will make you feel any better," Jack said slowly, looking up with a hopeful expression, "but I made you an oatmeal sundae." Spencer lifted her head and looked over her son's shoulder to the bedside table, where he'd placed a steaming bowl of oatmeal covered in chocolate syrup, with a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry on top. It was an old invention of Ashley's, which had long ago become a family favorite whenever one of them was sick or feeling sad. What the kids didn't know was that when Ashley had invented it, she was actually trying to nurse Spencer through her first college hangover; but it was still good for all occasions, and even though she wasn't remotely hungry, the sight of it gave Spencer a rush of warmth.

"Aww, baby, thank you. Did you really make that all by yourself?" Spencer rubbed her eyes, touched but disconcerted at the thought of her seven-year-old using the stove unsupervised.

"Well, Grandpa helped. But I put the chocolate syrup on!"

"Grandpa?" Spencer pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to clear her fuzzy brain. "You called grandpa?"

"No, he was here when I woke up. And grandma," he added belatedly, snuggling closer to Spencer and curling up with his head under her chin. "You feel all hot, Mama. I think you need some medicine."

"I know," Spencer yawned, hugging her son close for a moment, before releasing him and pushing herself up a little on the pillows. "Just give me a minute, baby, then—"

"Grandmaaaaaa!" Jackson shrieked at the top of his lungs. "Mama's awake!"

"Or, there's that way…" Spencer winced, massaging her temples. "Sweetie, please don't shout, Mama's got a big headache."

"Sorry." The little boy leaned over and kissed her forehead. After a few minutes, it became obvious that Paula hadn't heard her grandson's call, anyway—the house was large, and sound didn't exact carry through the thick walls, which Spencer and Ashley knew well and took advantage of often. When she finally stumbled downstairs, with her son practically crazy-glued to her side, Spencer found a full-scale chefly operation underway in her kitchen, with her father at the helm in his favorite "kiss the chef" apron. Her mother stood beside him rolling our Christmas cookies, and little Ella sat on the floor, gleefully banging a long wooden spoon against an overturned pot.

"Hey, baby," her father grinned warmly when he saw her, wiping his floury hands on his apron and crossing the kitchen to hug her. "You feeling any better this morning?"

"Ugh, no," Spencer grumbled, melting into the warmth and safety of her father's arms. It wasn't the same as having Ashley at home, but it was certainly a welcome surprise. "I'm glad you're here, though." She shivered, and pulled away from her dad just in time to avoid sneezing on him. "Did you guys turn on the air conditioning?" She asked thickly, through her sniffles. "It's freezing in here!"

"No it's not," Arthur frowned, feeling her face. "It's you, sweetheart, you're burning up." Paula came around the counter and reached out to touch her forehead, too, a mixture of clinical assessment and motherly concern behind her piercing blue eyes.

"Oh, baby!" Paula gasped, holding Spencer's face in both hands. "You sit down here, right this minute." She half guided, half pushed Spencer into a chair at the kitchen table, and picked up the kids' ear thermometer from where it sat by the sugar bowl. Spencer felt a momentary stab of guilt that she hadn't even taken the kids' temperatures yet today, but then reasoned that it didn't just walk out of the medicine cabinet by itself; her parents must have done that already. Temporarily mollified, she sat still for the few seconds it took for the little thermometer to beep.

"101.7," Paula frowned, running her free hand lightly through Spencer's hair.

"I thought you said this was supposed to be a mild virus," Spencer grumbled grouchily, wiping her nose on the back of her hand.

"It is, honey. It's a bit worse if you get it as an adult than it is for the kids…I was just hoping it wouldn't hit you so hard."

"Yeah, well…" She stifled another sneeze, and rubbed moodily at her nose. "Good luck with that." Her parents both fussed over her for a few minutes, and she ended up curled snugly on the couch under a thick afghan, with a dose of Tylenol and a mug of hot tea. Ella toddled over to her and climbed up into her lap, where Spencer automatically began checking her for signs of fever or discomfort.

"You don't have to worry about Ella, Spence, she's doing a lot better than you are," Paula said, sitting on the couch by Spencer's feet. "Other than a little chest congestion, she's happy as a clam. Right, Ella-bella?" Paula reached out and tickled the toddler's round tummy, and Ella shrieked with laughter.

"So what's going on here?" Spencer asked, gesturing vaguely toward the busy-looking kitchen. "Are you trying to bake us to death?"

"Well, honey," Paula squeezed Spencer's foot and smiled, "Your Dad and I talked it over with Ashley, and we thought it would be nice if we did Christmas dinner here this year. That way you and the kids won't have to travel, and if you start to fade halfway through the meal, you can just go to sleep in your own bed." Spencer blinked and rubbed her eyes, still trying to wake up.

"Wait, when did you talk to Ashley?"

"Oh, around 6:30 this morning when she called us and told us to get our butts over here pronto," Paula smirked. Spencer groaned and closed her eyes.

"Jeez…sorry about that."

"Now, now, Spencer, don't worry about that." Her dad came and sat in the armchair on her other side. "We're happy to be here for you. And we've already spoken to Glenn and Madison and Chelsea, and they're all happy to come spend Christmas here, too." Spencer was momentarily speechless. This was the first time in her kids' lives that they wouldn't be having Christmas at their grandparents' house; but no one seemed upset about it in the slightest.

"It's okay, Mama," Jackson piped up, having re-appeared with the prized oatmeal sundae, which he seemed determined to see her eat. "Grandpa already wrote Santa a letter to tell him where we are, so he won't be confused and leave our presents at the wrong house." He beamed at her, and Spencer couldn't help but smile back.

"You guys, this is so…" she shook her head, at a loss for words. Then she took a deep breath, and sneezed three times in a row, hastily covering her face to shield Ella, who was still in her lap.

"Mama, no!" Ella frowned, reaching up and pressing her small hand over Spencer's mouth. "All better!"

"Sorry, baby, I'm not all better yet," Spencer sniffed, pulling a tissue from the box on the coffee table. "But we're gonna have a fun Christmas anyway, right?"

"Mommy come home now?" Ella asked hopefully. Spencer opened her mouth to respond to her daughter's innocent question; but instead her throat constricted, and tears sprang to her eyes. She didn't want to cry, not when they were all trying so hard to cheer her up, and especially not when she was trying to reassure the kids that Christmas would still be fun. But she really couldn't help it. She took a deep gulp of air and bit her lip, feeling a few tears stream down her face before she hastily wiped them away.

"Mama, look at what grandma found." Jackson jumped up and ran back to the kitchen, reappearing a moment later with a photo clutched in his hand.

"Oh, yeah…" Paula nodded, apparently having forgotten her discovery while she fussed over Spencer. "I was just trying to find some measuring cups for the cookies, and I found that at the bottom of a drawer…seems like I just took that picture last week." Jackson nestled in next to Spencer on the couch, and proudly displayed his prize: it was the photo Paula took the night of their Junior prom, the last photo taken of Clay before he died. Spencer laughed delightedly as her eyes fell on each of them in turn; Clay and Chelsea, Glenn and Madison, Kyla and Aiden, and her and Ashley, all of them beaming at the camera.

"How come Uncle Glenn is wearing a skirt?" Jackson asked, pointing at the photo.

"That's not a skirt, young man, it's a kilt," Arthur told his grandson seriously. "And that is your heritage as a proud Scotsman." Jackson raised his eyebrows dubiously.

"Yeah, right, grandpa." Paula and Spencer both laughed while Arthur continued to level his grandson with an expression of utmost seriousness.

"Oh, my God, this is so beautiful," Spencer sighed, taking the photo and examining it closely. "I can't believe we let it get lost…"

"Well, it's a hard memory for all of us, sweetheart." Paula squeezed Spencer's free hand, and they shared a sad smile.

"Because that was the night Uncle Clay died?" Jackson asked, innocent in his curiosity.

"That's right, my darling." Paula smiled sadly and scooped her grandson into her arms, hugging him tight.

"It was also the first night that Ash and I went out together without sneaking past you," Spencer reminded her mother, lightly touching the smiling teenage Ashley, grinning slyly at the camera with that devilish crinkle in her nose that always made Spencer melt.

"We all grew up a lot that year," Paula admitted soberly, with a loving glance at the old photo.

"We sure did." Spencer shared a smile with her mom over her kids' heads. Suddenly, she wanted to hear Ashley's voice more than anything. "Will you guys excuse me for a minute? I'm just gonna call Ash and check in."

"Sure, honey. Take your time." Her father scooped Ella up, and carried her back to the kitchen, followed closely by Paula and Jackson. Spencer watched them go with a bittersweet smile on her face; then she reached for the phone.

Ashley was sitting on Kyla's balcony, strumming her guitar and watching the Christmas crowds strolling along the boardwalk below. With a glance at the caller ID on the trilling phone, she smiled the same wide, crinkle-nosed grin that had kept Spencer swooning since the 11th grade. "Hi, beautiful," she beamed when she picked it up. "How're you doing?"

"Better, since I woke up and found the Carlin family service brigade hard at work in our kitchen. Did you really call them at 6:30??"

"Well, you sounded really terrible last night, baby," Ashley explained defensively. "I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't have to worry about anything. You're not mad, are you?"

"Of course not. It was just what I needed."

"See, I _told_ you that giving them a key to our place was a good idea," Ashley smirked, a cocky note in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah," Spencer rolled her eyes, trying to hold back her grin even though Ashley couldn't see it. "You were right this time…though I'm pretty sure that I was right the first time around." They both burst into a storm of adolescent giggles, sharing a memory of their first day of living together in Ashley's loft. Spencer hadn't been too thrilled with Ashley's decision to give her mother her own key to their place, even if it did make her stop crying for the first time since Spencer's graduation ceremony. But by the time all the boxes had been moved and unpacked, Ashley had managed to convince Spencer that Paula understood the key was mostly a symbolic gesture, and that she would never just barge in unannounced—those days, along with her homophobic attitude and a tendency to throw Ashley out of the house by her hair, were long gone.

"_You know what?" Spencer stood in the middle of the living room—their living room—with her hands on her hips._

"_What, baby?" Ashley looked up from where she lay strumming her guitar on the couch, with a grin a mile wide. _

"_I'm finished unpacking—I live here now." They looked at each other, amazement on both their faces. Then Ashley put her guitar aside, and leapt off the couch into Spencer's arms, kissing her deeply. _

"_I have never been happier in my entire life than I am right now," Ashley whispered against Spencer's lips, eyes still closed, her hands trailing lightly up Spencer's back under her t-shirt. She didn't even realize she was crying until Spencer began kissing her tears away, stroking Ashley's hair with the lightest of touches even while she backed them both up against the arm of the couch. _

"_I love you, Ashley Davies…forever," Spencer murmured back, pushing Ashley back onto the couch and climbing on top of her. "I'm gonna show you just how much…" She pulled Ashley's shirt up over her head, and undid the front clasp of her bra, kissing and nipping her way around her girlfriend's pert breasts. Ashley groaned and dug her fingers into Spencer's hair, but Spencer wouldn't be rushed. She took her time showering Ashley's body with affection, keeping the other girl pinned down under her hips as she went. She was so absorbed with her trail across Ashley's smooth skin, that she was completely taken off guard when she felt her own shirt being pulled up over her head without warning._

"_Hey, I'm on top here," Spencer growled playfully, grabbing Ashley's roaming hands and pinning them back against the couch cushions. _

"_For now," Ashley agreed wickedly, staring up at Spencer with a smoldering look in her eyes. _

"_What's that supposed to—" Before she'd even finished her sentence, Ashley managed to sit bolt upright under Spencer's grip, so that Spencer was now in her lap, with her long legs wrapped firmly around Ashley's hips. _

"_Checkmate," Ashley giggled, wrapping her arms around Spencer's neck and pressing their lips together. Spencer opened her mouth with a sigh of longing, and Ashley slipped her tongue between Spencer's teeth, eagerly exploring the wet inside of her mouth. They kissed for long minutes, bare stomachs rubbing against each other with a building sense of urgency. The lace fabric of Spencer's bra rubbed scratchily against Ashley's nipples, arousing and distracting her at the same time, till she reached around and undid the clasp, slipping the thin straps down Spencer's shoulders and flinging it carelessly across the room. _

"_I can't believe…we can do it right in the living room," Spencer panted, digging her nails into Ashley's back to pull her closer._

"_Our living room," Ashley reminded her, trailing her teeth down to Spencer's pulse point and latching on._

"_Ahh…oh, fuck, yessss!" Spencer squealed, writhing against Ashley's toned body as her back arched. "Oh God Ash, I need you inside me..." The next scream they both heard didn't come from either of them. Heads snapping up in horror, they both saw Paula standing just inside the wide-open front door, eyes wide in shock._

"_MOM!" Spencer shrieked._

"…Hey, at least she didn't drag me out the door by my hair that time," Ashley said wryly, a faraway expression in her dark brown eyes as she stared out over the boardwalk.

"Yeah, well…" Spencer grinned, feeling a blush rising in her already warm face. "It wasn't the way I would've chosen to train her to call before she comes over, but…there's no arguing, it was effective. Anyway, I'm glad you sent them over today, baby. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Spence," Ashley said seriously, her free hand stroking her slightly swollen belly unconsciously. "It's my job to take care of you. …Or, at least, to make sure that someone else does." She muttered the last part with a glum note in her voice.

"Hey, no pouting," Spencer said sternly. "It's Christmas, you know."

"Yeah, and all I can think about is what's in my secret sex box that I won't be opening tonight," Ashley grumbled petulantly.

"Just think what a happy new year we'll have," Spencer teased, stretching out on the couch with a yawn.

"Getting sleepy, angel?" Ashley asked gently, her voice soothing Spencer like a familiar touch.

"Mmm…yeah…" She yawned again, blinking slowly. "But I can't go back to sleep, I just got up, like, an hour ago."

"So what? You're allowed to sleep, Spence, you're sick. And I know you didn't get much sleep last night."

"Uh-huh," Spencer agreed, her mind beginning to swim as her eyes slid shut. "Hmm…Ash?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"I forgot to tell you…" she paused for another tremendous yawn. "I love you."

"I love you too, my sweet girl." Ashley closed her eyes and sighed. "Now get some rest, okay?"

"Oh…kay…" Spencer mumbled, just barely managing to hang up the phone before her brain drifted away to dreamland. Ashley hung up with a wistful smile on her face, and reached for her guitar.

"Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas  
This is all I'm asking for  
I just want to see my baby  
Standing right outside my door  
Oh I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true  
Baby all I want for Christmas is...  
You."

"Oh my _God_," Kyla exclaimed, a gleeful grin spread across her face as she came up behind Ashley on the balcony. "I know you're all pregnant and hormonal and stuff, but…Mariah Carey?!"

"Hey, don't judge me, Ashram girl," Ashley replied with a shrug. "I'm just finding a healthy outlet for my emotions."

"No, uh-uh. Ashley Davies singing Mariah Carey is definitely _not_ healthy," Kyla asserted with a shake of her head. "C'mon, sis, I'm getting you out of this house before it's too late. Your fans will thank me," She added as an afterthought, pulling Ashley up by her arm.

"What the hell, Kyla? Where do you think there is to go? It's Christmas Eve!"

"I know what day it is, doofus," Kyla said airily, still pulling Ashley behind her. "And we're going somewhere you will most definitely not feel tempted to bust out any more diva pop. C'mon, chop chop!" Ashley rolled her eyes, and followed her sister out the door.


	17. Ho ho ho!

Hi kids, and Chag Sameach! (That's how we say "happy holidays" in hebrew...)

Thanx so much for all the great reviews lately-- you all rock my teenage party world! So here's another update full of holiday goodness. This is actually the first straight-up "Christmas" story I've ever written...having never actually celebrated Christmas myself...so I hope I didn't leave out anything crucial. And if I did, oh well! I'm sure you'd be more upset if I got Christmas right, and left out the spashley ;)

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 17**

**By JewWitch**

"Okay Kyla, all that mystery and intrigue, and you're taking me to Ego?" Ashley rolled her eyes at her grinning sister as she undid her seatbelt and hopped out of the car. "News flash, love child…been there, done that."

"Okay, smartass…have you considered that it might not be where we are, but who is waiting for us inside, that counts?" Ashley raised one eyebrow dubiously, but followed Kyla inside their old high school haunt. It was still mid-afternoon, and the Christmas café vibe was in full swing, with hundreds of strings of colored lights hanging off everything that would stand still, and all the hot young wait staff bedecked in various takeoffs on naughty Santa outfits—which Ashley would've found extremely trite, if not for the many tattoos, piercings, and multicolored hairdos underneath. As she moved through the crowd, she was aware of the many looks that came her way, as excited patrons whispered to each other that Ashley Davies had just walked in. Luckily, LA was the kind of city where sighting a famous rock star at the next table wasn't terribly unusual, and people knew their etiquette. No one got in her face as she followed her sister to a table at the back of the room.

"Holy shit," Ashley muttered, a huge, shocked grin splitting her face as she looked across the table to a familiar pair of blue eyes. "Aiden!"

"Merry Christmas, Ash," he grinned sheepishly back at her.

"Oh my God, what the fuck are you doing here after all these years?!" It might've come out sounding harsh, if not for the fact that she launched herself into his arms as she said it, hugging him for all her was worth.

"Well, I'm in town on business, and Kyla invited me to spend Christmas with her." Ashley looked over Aiden's shoulder to where her sister stood, still waiting for her own chance to say hello to the sharply-dressed guy between them, with a nervous smile on her face.

"Holy crap, you guys, I am _so_ sorry. I'm completely third-wheeling you here!" Ashley groaned, as understanding clicked in her brain.

"Ashley, of course you're not a third wheel," Kyla assured her, her frozen smile finally broken with a laugh. "You're my sister! And Aiden was totally psyched when I told him you'd be joining."

"Well, duh." Ashley's usually cocky expression was back in place by the time she sat down.

"So I hear congratulations are in order," Aiden offered formally, taking his own seat across from her. "Spencer finally knocked you up, huh?" His officious expression broke into a devious smirk.

"What can I say, my girl has mad skills," Ashley winked, cool as a cucumber while Aiden and Kyla both laughed like a couple of embarrassed teenagers.

"And how is the little lady? What's with this whole quarantine situation? Sounds like her mom's trying to de-gay her again, if you ask me," Aiden shrugged, with his own cocky head-tilt.

"Oh my God, Aiden, we have _got_ to get you up to speed," Ashley laughed, shaking her head. "Me and Paula are like, BFF's these days. Yeah, for real!" She exclaimed when he shook his head in obvious disbelief. "You should've seen the surprise party we threw together for Spencer's 30th birthday; it was seriously wicked. And Spencer isn't under quarantine; it's just from me and the baby. She and the kids just have this weird virus that has, like, a small chance of making me miscarry if I caught it. So…" she shrugged, the lightheartedness of a few moments ago suddenly draining out of her as she looked down at her hands. "Here I am."

"Jeez, Ash! They're okay though, right?"

"Oh, yeah, it's totally not serious," Ashley assured him, as she realized with a small jolt of surprise how concerned his expression really was. "Jack's better already except for the rash, and Ella's just a little stuffed up. Spence got it the worst, but I sent her parents over at the butt crack of dawn to take care of her, so she'll be okay."

"Ella? …That's the new baby?"

"Yes, and she's not new, Aiden. She's two years old!" Ashley snorted, rolling her eyes.

"And a total cutie-pie," Kyla said, pulling out her wallet to show off pictures of her niece and nephew.

"Whoa." Aiden's eyes widened when he looked at the photo. "She looks _exactly_ like Spencer."

"Yeah," Ashley followed Aiden's gaze, grinning like an idiot. "Tell me about it." Aiden looked up at her expression, and busted out laughing.

"Oh, man, I can just see you when she's in high school," he snickered. "You are gonna be beating back any boy—or girl—who tries to touch her!"

"Oh, you think so?" Ashley folded her arms, unsure whether or not to be offended. "You think _I'm_ gonna be the strict one?"

"Yes," Kyla and Aiden both said in unison. They caught each other's eye, and both smiled shyly at the other. Ashley noticed this, filing it away for later use, and began searching the menu for something extra-spicy…or chocolate.

While Ashley was toasting Kyla and Aiden over sparkling cider at Ego, Spencer was waking up on the couch, to find the population of her kitchen had doubled again. Her hazy eyes blinked a few times, taking in her parents, Chelsea, and Madison. Their voices were familiar and soothing, and Spencer let herself lie there and just listen to the sound of all of them talking and laughing for a few moments, while she slowly woke up. Her headache was gone, and she wasn't shivering anymore; she even felt a little hungry. It was this last part that motivated her to crawl out from under her blankets, and wander into the kitchen.

"Hey everybody," she smiled, rubbing her eyes. They all gave her a little wave, as she walked up to the nearest tray of cookies and took one.

"That's the first thing I've seen you eat all day, so you must be feeling better," Paula said, coming around the island and lightly touching the back of her hand to Spencer's forehead.

"Yup," Spencer agreed monosyllabically, concentrating on her still-warm cookie. "Yummy."

"Well, that's a relief," Paula smiled a little too cheerfully. "I was starting to think I was gonna have to break out Ella's airplane spoon to get anything down your throat."

"Ha ha, Mom," Spencer rolled her eyes.

"Roll your eyes all you want," Paula smiled airily, picking up another cookie and offering it to Spencer. "Just eat."

"Milk too, please?" Spencer smiled angelically, and Paula went to the fridge. "Hey you guys, thanks for agreeing to have Christmas here at the last minute," Spencer said to her sisters-in-law as they all sat down at the table. "I don't know what I'd do if I actually had to get dressed and leave the house right now."

"Aww, Spence, it's no problem," Chelsea smiled, squeezing her knee. "I'm so glad we could do something to help! It totally sucks that you're sick on Christmas, _and_ you had to kick Ash to the curb on top of it."

"Yeah…it kind of blows," Spencer admitted, looking down at her cookies with a dismal expression. "But I mean, it could've been _so_ much worse. As long as Ash and the baby are okay, nothing else really matters, you know?" She looked up with a half-smile that made Chelsea and Madison both grin knowingly back. Swallowing the last of her milk, Spencer stood and stretched, yawning hugely. "Well chicas, I think I'm gonna run upstairs and grab a shower before dinner…I am totally covered in dried sweat."

"You might want to wait just a few more minutes, Spence," Madison smirked, exchanging another knowing grin with Chelsea. "And get your camera ready."

"What for--?" Spencer started to ask; but at the same moment, the front door swung open to reveal a tall figure, all dressed in red.

"Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!" Glenn cried in a deep, booming voice. It took about two seconds for the kids to come racing in from the playroom, shrieking "Santa, Santa!" and leaping into his arms.

"Oh my God, no way," Spencer laughed, watching her brother being attacked by the combined force of their children. "Another new tradition in the making?" She ran to find her digital camera, and began snapping candids of Jack and Ana climbing all over "Santa Glen," as little Ella clung to his knees and chirped "Santi Cwauss!" Clay Jr. was there, too, and seeing Spencer awake, he came around to hug her.

"Hey, Auntie Spence," the fifteen-year-old grinned and kissed her cheek. "Merry Christmas!"

"Back atcha, big guy. What's up with the new Santa arrangement here?"

"Oh, well, Grandpa didn't want to do it this year. He said he wanted to stay here with you, in case you needed him; and Uncle Glenn was all like, 'Ooh, I'ma be Santa, my day is here, hell yeah!'" They all burst out laughing, as Santa-Glenn pulled an enormous sack of presents into the foyer, and the kids went postal. Spencer kept snapping pictures until her laughter turned back into a nagging cough, at which point she was swept up in a human-tide toward the couch, and forced to sit down with a fresh cup of tea. This was all right with her, since she now had a front-row seat to watch the kids as they studiously sorted all the presents from the sack into piles under the tree.

"Santa, where are all my Mommy's presents?" Jackson asked, as he came to the bottom of the sack.

"Oh, well…" Glenn cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Santa got a message that your Mommy was staying at…" He glanced across the room to Spencer, who mouthed '_Kyla'_ over the kids' heads. "…At Auntie Kyla's house," He finished hastily. "So that's where her presents are going. Okay, champ?" Jackson looked from "Santa," back to his own towering pile of gifts, and swallowed nervously.

"Santa? Is it too late for me to make a trade?"

"Now Jackson, you know that Santa's elves have been working hard on these toys all year," Glenn said gravely, patting the little boy on the head, with a grin from behind his huge white beard. "Now they're helping Santa send all the right presents to all the right kids. They don't have time to make any more."

"That's not what I meant," Jackson said, with another glance at his pile. "I mean, if I gave all my presents back…could you make Mama all better, so Mommy can come home now?" Spencer lowered her camera, as tears stung her eyes.

"That's a very generous offer, Jack," Santa-Glenn said stoically, patting his nephew on the back. "And if Santa could make your Mama better, I'd do it right now. You wouldn't have to give up any of your presents for that." He glanced over at Spencer, and his big-brother wink made the sting of tears fade behind her eyes. "But that's not a power Santa has."

"Yeah, that's what I figured," Jack shrugged glumly, as "Santa" ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Hey, Jacko, I've got an idea," Clay said, squatting down beside him with a grin. Always eager to follow his older cousin's lead, Jack looked up hopefully. "How about we take a picture of everybody here with Santa, and send it to your mom on her phone right now?" Jackson nodded happily, his face splitting suddenly into a gap-toothed grin.

...................

"Listen," Ashley was frowning at the anxious-looking waiter who stood trying to take her order as her phone vibrated in her pocket. "I don't give a flying fuck about your special Christmas menu. I just want you to bring me some spicy chicken wings, how hard is that?"

"Well I'll have to check in the kitchen to see if—"

"Okay, Ego boy, stop talking now." Ashley narrowed her eyes; Kyla and Aiden looked at each other, and both started to snicker. "You _do_ realize who I am?" The blond-haired young man nodded nervously, eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Then you must know how displeased your manager will be if I have to call him over here."

"Of course, Ms. Davies, I'm sure that won't be—"

"Damn right, it _won't_ be necessary. Just turn your ass around, and bring me what I ordered. I don't care if you have to go get them from another restaurant and pretend they came from your kitchen. Got it?" The terrified waiter nodded, and scurried away.

"Damn, Ash!" Aiden pounded the table with laughter.

"What?" Ashley blinked innocently. "I'm gonna give him a good tip."

"You are soooo pregnant," He chuckled, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes as he shook his head.

"Well, duh." Ashley rolled her eyes as she pulled her phone from her pocket and flipped it open. "Aww, you guys, check this out." Grinning hugely, she held the photo out for the others to see.

"Holy crap, is that Glenn in a Santa suit?"

"Sure looks like it, doesn't it?" Ashley agreed, her eyes moving over the grinning faces of her family. "Spencer's so pale, poor thing…" she sighed. "At least she's smiling."

"See Aiden, that's Jackson and Ella," Kyla pointed out her niece and nephew, "and that's Glenn and Madison's daughter Ana, and there's little Clay."

"Damn, you mean _big_ Clay! How long have I been away from LA, anyway?"

"A long time," Kyla said quietly. Aiden looked up and caught her eye, his grin sliding slowly off his face.

"Um, okay…I'll be right back," Ashley looked dubiously between them. "You guys just keep on doing…whatever it is you're doing here." She slid off her seat, punching the home key on her speed dial.

"Hi baby," Spencer's warm voice carried through the phone as Ashley wandered outside, looking for a semi-private spot to talk. "Guess you got the photo, huh?"

"Yeah, give your brother a 'ho ho ho' from me, will ya?" Ashley giggled. "Hey, you'll never believe who Kyla and me are with right now."

"Hmm…Madonna?"

"Ha ha," Ashley rolled her eyes. "Not quite. Ready for this? Aiden!"

"Wait—what? _Aiden_ Aiden?"

"The one and only," Ashley agreed. "And I think he and baby sis have a little somethin'-somethin' going on here…if you know what I mean."

"Whoa…I need to process this." Spencer shook her head disbelievingly. "I mean, we haven't seen him in, what? Ten years? What's he even doing here?"

"Well the official story is that he's 'in town on business,' and Kyla just happened to invite him out for Christmas…but I dunno, Spence. It seems a little fishy to me."

"Well you just stay out of it and mind your own business, missy. We both know your track record when it comes to those two."

"Hey, I am so totally rooting for them to hook up again!" Ashley exclaimed defensively, peeking through the window to watch them exchange another shy smile, as Aiden reached across the table and took Kyla's hand. "And from where I'm standing, it's looking like all-systems-go."

"And this isn't gonna be too weird for you?" Spencer pressed, a nervous edge in her voice that made Ashley smirk quietly to herself. "I mean, it's Aiden, and…"

"Spencer." Ashley cut her off, smiling as she looked away from the window. "There is absolutely, positively, no weirdness here. Aiden could strip naked right here on the table and start doing a pole dance, and all I'd care about is getting my chicken wings. Okay?"

"Smooth talker," Spencer folded her arms, grinning. "Though I'm not sure that says as much about your feelings for Aiden, as it does your feelings about food right now!"

"Hey, your kid is a hungry little monster," Ashley shrugged, grinning goofily. "And I promise, baby, as soon as you're feeling better, I'm gonna come home and show you just how much I've missed you…you and only you. Got it?"

"I got it," Spencer murmured, and Ashley could hear the shy smile in her voice. "Merry Christmas, baby."

"Merry Christmas, my angel."


	18. Spencer's super sweet surprise

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 18**

**By JewWitch**

A couple of notes on this chapter:

1) Ashley's song, "Dirty Mind," is from the South of Nowhere website and is actually by Sara Melson (along with a bunch of other really good songs from the show!).

2) There are some Buffy the Vampire Slayer references later on in this chapter that might be confusing if you don't know that show…I am sort of cashing in my "if you are now or have ever been a teenage dyke, you will know Buffy" chips on this one. (And you _know_ Ashley's got the whole series on DVD). So if you find yourself confused at all in this chap…it's Buffy!

3) **This chapter is rated M**! (Remember what's in the secret box…?)

………………………………………........................................................................................................................................

It was two days before New Year's when Kyla answered her front door, to find Spencer waiting on the front step with a huge smile on her face, and a bag full of presents under her arm.

"Hey kiddo," Kyla smiled, shooting a glance behind her to make sure Ashley wasn't nearby before ushering Spencer into the house. "Got everything you need?"

"Yeah, thanks, I'm all set here," Spencer grinned, setting down her bags to give her sister-in-law a hug. "Thanks again for letting me do this, I _so_ owe you one."

"Eh, it's no big. Gives me an excuse to spend another night in Aiden's swank hotel room…and you know that Ash is gonna flip her shit when she sees you two days ahead of schedule."

"Yeah." Spencer grinned shyly, a warm blush rising in her cheeks. "That's the idea."

"Just promise you'll change the sheets in the morning, okay?" Kyla pointed a stern finger at the blushing blond, who bit her lip and gave an embarrassed snort.

"Ew, Kyla!"

"Well, I'm just sayin'…"

"Yes, yes, we will change the sheets, okay? Goodbye now," Spencer steered the giggling brunette out the door, locking it behind her with a satisfying click. Then she tiptoed up the stairs, poking her head into Kyla's guest room to find Ashley out on the deck. It was a wrap-around balcony that connected all the second-floor bedrooms, and Spencer could see Ashley sitting cross-legged in a lounge chair with her guitar, facing the boardwalk and the Pacific Ocean below. She had her back to the house, which was fine with Spencer, as it allowed her to sneak up on her unsuspecting prey more easily; she managed to make her way across the thickly carpeted bedroom, and slip through the sliding glass door, without Ashley turning around.

Finally, Spencer found herself standing directly behind Ashley's chair, listening to her strumming her guitar and singing softly to herself. Spencer recognized the song; it was "Dirty Mind," her first hit—which, coincidentally, was also the first song she ever wrote for Spencer. It made the blonde stop in her tracks, smiling a secret smile and listening over an unsuspecting Ashley's shoulder.

"Here you come just like a meteor shower  
Call me up at the dreamiest hour  
Sighing with your lazy voice on the phone

Oh please come find me with your dirty mind  
Hold me down until I cry  
With your wicked secret smile

Hold me down until I cry  
With your wicked secret smile  
Hold me down and make me cry

Please come find me with your dirty mind…"

Overcome with love and desire, Spencer reached out a hand to the singing girl's arm, leaning down so her lips almost touched Ashley's ear.

"Found you," she murmured. Startled out of her musical trance, Ashley whipped around with her dark eyes wide with shock, mouth hanging open. Spencer just smiled, and slipped her hand from Ashley's shoulder into her thick, wavy hair. After a second where the dark-haired musician seemed completely unable to process what was in front of her, she blinked incredulously, and leapt out of her chair, barely managing to put her guitar down before she was all over the blonde, kissing every inch of her face while their hands ran enthusiastically over each other's bodies.

"Oh my God, Spencer…" Ashley almost sobbed, grabbing the blond girl's face with both hands and kissing her with surprising gentleness, considering how roughly they were clinging to each other. "What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

"More than okay," Spencer grinned back, when her lips had been released. "Got my blood work back this afternoon…I'm all better, one hundred percent cootie-free. Just thought it might be fun to…" Ashley cut her off with another kiss, pushing her down into the extra-long, padded lounge chair and climbing on top of her. "…Surprise you," Spencer panted when Ashley finally pulled away, with a grin a mile wide.

"I am so, so happy to see you," Ashley murmured, picking up one of Spencer's hands and slowly kissing each of her knuckles.

"Couldn't be happier than I am to see you," Spencer smirked, sifting through Ashley's loose curls with her free hand. "I missed you so much, Ash…" They beamed wordlessly at each other for a moment, and shared another soft kiss.

"I missed you rubbing my tummy when we're falling asleep," Ashley whispered, her lips so close to Spencer's ear that her warm breath sent a delicious tingle up the blonde's spine.

"I missed the smell of your hair when I'm waking up in the morning," Spencer murmured back, trailing her nails lightly up and down the back of Ashley's neck.

"I missed you kissing me awake," Ashley grinned, leaning more of her weight into Spencer as she gently pressed their foreheads together, then kissed both of Spencer's eyelids.

"I missed you singing in the shower," Spencer smirked, leaning up to nibble on the skin just below Ashley's ear.

"I missed your little nose…" Ashley sat back and kissed the tip of Spencer's nose. "And all your cute little sneezes." Spencer laughed, and Ashley pretended to look insulted. "What? I've told you a million times how adorable you are when you sneeze…you get that cute little crinkle right between your eyes…" She reached out and rubbed the spot with her thumb, still grinning goofily. "You sure you haven't got a couple more in there?" She cocked her head and blinked, like a curious puppy.

"You know what, Ash?" Spencer cocked her head, too, drawing Ashley's hand down to her lips and kissing her palm.

"No, what?"

"If you weren't so freakin' hot…you would be the world's biggest nerd."

"And you totally love it," Ashley smirked, completely unabashed as she leaned in and recaptured Spencer's warm lips with her own.

"Mm-hmm," Spencer agreed blissfully, arching her back up into Ashley's weight, and trying to pull her down by the hips at the same time. They stopped talking as both were consumed with the touch and taste of each other, hands reaching out for buttons and zippers.

"Hey, Spence?" Ashley finally murmured, as her eyes opened and fell on the package lying innocently on the floor.

"Hmm?" Spencer mumbled, busily nibbling on Ashley's earlobe.

"Whatcha got in the bag?" Spencer stopped what she was doing, and rolled her head to one side, grinning secretively.

"Something you've been waiting very patiently for, my good girl." Ashley's face split into a huge grin as she dove for the bag, ripping out the first box and shredding the wrapping paper like a maniac while Spencer giggled. "Actually, that one's for me," She added, as Ashley's eyes lit up with the same disbelieving expression their seven-year-old had worn when he saw his brand-new skateboard under the tree on Christmas morning.

"Aww…no way!" Ashley squealed, looking up at Spencer with an expression of pure incredulity. "You're really gonna play?" She reached into the box, and pulled out a green and yellow cheerleading outfit with the words _Sunnydale High_ printed across the chest; plus a wooden stake, a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs, and a blindfold.

"Wait till you see what's in your box," Spencer winked, taking all the stuff Ashley had just unwrapped, and walking back into the bedroom to change. Ashley sat there with a dazed expression, like she'd just been hit in the face with something heavy. Then she gave a small start, and frowned.

"Hey!" She turned and yelled at Spencer's retreating form. "No fair, you got to pick out your best lingerie, and I didn't!"

"Ash, you have eighty Betsey Johnson bras," Spencer laughed, shaking her head. "I'm pretty sure whatever you're wearing right now is gonna be hot." Ashley tilted her head, considering.

"Yeah, true." She gave Spencer a shit-eating grin, and Spencer actually blushed before she turned back toward the house. Refocusing her attention on her own box, Ashley found a black patent-leather miniskirt, silver halter-top, and a black leather jacket: the perfect Faith outfit to complement Spencer's Buffy-gear. She grinned wickedly, happy that her little three-months-pregnant tummy wasn't going to get in the way of these clothes at all. _This is gonna be so freakin' hot_, she thought, an almost painful state of excitement shooting through her limbs as she began to change.

When she strode back into the bedroom, Spencer was nowhere to be found. Figuring that she wanted to make an entrance, Ashley sprawled out on the bed, where there was a comic book and a cherry Blow-Pop waiting for her. _Damn, my girl went all out_, she thought happily as she unwrapped the candy, and popped it in her mouth. Figuring that she might as well give Spencer her money's worth, she swirled her tongue all around the sugary lump, making sure the cherry flavor was completely coating the inside of her mouth. She was just starting to relax, lying flat on her stomach with her legs crossed in midair behind her, when there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah," she said coolly, pretending to pay attention to her comic book. But the blonde just stood in the doorway, arms crossed, and didn't speak; until finally Ashley had to look up. "Hey, B. Somethin' I can do for ya? Or you just playing hooky from cheerleading practice to gawk at the freak for a while?" Spencer looked genuinely distraught when Ashley finally caught her eye, taking in the long, toned length of the blonde girl's stomach, between her extremely short cheerleading top, and even shorter skirt; and her legs seemed to go on almost forever. _Damn, she looks good in that!_ Ashley wanted to smile, but managed to hold it in. Faith didn't smile—Faith glowered.

"You're not a freak, Faith," Spencer said in a convincingly urgent voice. "And I came here because I was worried about you." Her eyes were sad and imploring, and for a moment Ashley had to actively stop herself from reaching out to touch that quivering lip.

"No need, B. It's all five-by-five here." Ashley spread her arms to indicate the room around her. "So thanks for your concern; you can move along now."

"Dammit, can't you see that I care about you? That I'm trying to say I'm sorry?" Spencer advanced on the bed, her eyes blazing with angsty-hero intensity.

"Sorry?" Ashley snorted derisively, rolling onto her back and looking up at the ceiling. "What does Sunnydale's little-miss-perfect have to be sorry for?" She was starting to enjoy herself, losing her self-consciousness in the role-play. She realized that however hard she pushed Spencer right now, it wouldn't matter; the blond girl wasn't taking no for an answer.

Sure enough, Spencer crossed the room in three long strides, and planted herself on top of Ashley on the bed, straddling her. Ashley fought to wriggle free of the knees locking her in place, but Spencer grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head.

"How about this," Spencer growled, her golden hair dangling over her shoulders in two neat braids. "I'm sorry I pushed you away. I'm sorry I lied to you, I'm sorry I pretended I didn't understand when I did. I'm sorry I asked you to trust me, and didn't trust you back." Ashley continued to struggle halfheartedly under Spencer's grip, but her stony expression melted under the intense blue gaze above her.

"Okay, fine, I forgive you," she muttered gruffly. "You happy now, B? You've done your duty, so you can just run along back to your little Scooby gang, and leave me in peace." She turned her head to the side, and stared out the window, not yet ready to give in.

"You still don't get it," Spencer said softly, letting go of one of Ashley's wrists, and running her fingers with excruciating lightness over the dark-haired girl's cheek, down to her throat. Ashley felt goosebumps erupt all the way to her toes. "Once I became the slayer…I thought I was always gonna be alone. The Chosen One—that's just a fancy British prophecy-word for 'alone,' isn't it? And I got used to that; I learned to pretend it was okay. But then you came along, and I can't pretend with you—because you _know_ how I feel, you just know! Because it's the same; _we're_ the same. Don't you see how fucking scary that is?!" There were actual tears pooling in Spencer's eyes, and Ashley felt a hard lump forming in her throat.

"What do you want from me?" She whispered, her dark eyes locked on the fierce blue ones above her.

"Just stay with me," Spencer whispered back, tilting Ashley's chin back and leaning down to give her the lightest whisper of a kiss. The touch of Spencer's lips on hers broke the spell she was under; suddenly Ashley was Ashley again, and the game was over.

"I will stay with you until the fucking end of time," she whispered back, reaching up and pulling Spencer's face down to hers with both hands. Spencer whimpered into the searing kiss, letting Ashley roll her over onto her back while their legs tangled together.

"You taste like cherries," Spencer murmured, reaching up to untie Ashley's halter top; but the laces up the back were rather intricate, and in her haste, Spencer ended up making rather a mess of it, and getting three of her fingers caught in the knot.

"Oh, fuck me…I think I'm stuck in your shirt!" Spencer giggled helplessly, while Ashley collapsed on top of her, burying her own laughter in Spencer's throat.

"Just stay still for two freaking seconds…" Ashley reached around, and managed to free Spencer's captured fingers, then sat up on top of the blonde and wriggled out of the constricting top. "Real smooth, Spence." Ashley winked, her silly smile sliding slowly off her face when she saw the blazing look Spencer was giving her.

"Kiss me," Spencer whispered, her hands resting lightly on Ashley's hips. Not needing to be told twice, Ashley leaned down and dipped her cherry-red tongue into Spencer's warm mouth, sliding her hands down the quivering body beneath her until she felt the hard edge of the handcuffs under her back.

"Do you trust me?" Ashley asked softly, holding up the fuzzy pink bondage gear in one hand over Spencer's head.

"Of course," Spencer smiled—her wicked, secret smile—and stretched her hands out over her head, allowing Ashley to slip her out of her tight cheerleading top, and cuff her to the headboard.

"Dirty mind," Ashley shook her head, grinning when she saw that Spencer wasn't wearing a bra. "Thought you were gonna speed things up, huh?" She trailed her fingers lightly over the smooth skin of Spencer's throat, all the way down her breastbone to her bellybutton. Spencer arched her back, arms automatically straining against their confinement, and bit her lip with a little whimper. "Well I'm not about to let you off that easy," Ashley murmured, leaning down over Spencer so their bodies almost touched. "I'm gonna make you beg for it," the grinning brunette whispered, her hot breath warming Spencer's ear. She reached down and slid one hand up the blonde girl's short skirt, savoring the tiny gasps and moans as she trailed her fingers teasingly up the baby-soft skin of Spencer's inner thigh.

"Ash, please…I need you so bad," Spencer whined, pushing her hips up to get closer to Ashley's touch.

"Shh, baby," Ashley whispered, leaning down and pressing her lips to Spencer's, while her hand continued to play between the blonde girl's thighs with whisper-light touches. "Just relax, and let me take care of you…" she kissed a line down Spencer's throat, tongue darting out to lick her pulse point. "Let me rock your world…"

"You always do," Spencer panted, a dark red flush traveling up her throat to her face as she smiled up at the dark eyes that were her whole world.

"Aww, baby, you're all red," Ashley teased, stroking Spencer's flushed cheek with the back of her hand. "Better cool you down, just in case you're getting feverish again…I think we need some ice cubes in here." She winked, and slid off Spencer's hips, leaving her helplessly handcuffed to the bed while Ashley padded to the kitchen, almost naked, for an ice tray. _This just keeps getting better_…she thought gleefully. _And we haven't even busted out the blindfold yet!_ She grabbed her ice, plus a bottle of orange Power-Ade from the fridge. _Yup, we are definitely gonna need this._

………………………………………

The sun was streaming through the kitchen windows when Kyla poked her head through her front door the next morning, pausing with her head cocked in midair, listening hard for any sounds from within.

"C'mon, what's the holdup?" Aiden put his hands on her back, trying to coax her through the door. "I'm hungry, here!"

"Oh, excuse me, do you not understand what we could stumble into here?" Kyla put her hands on her hips, and Aiden just grinned. "Okay, shut up. Are you still in high school?!" Their argument was cut short when they both spotted Ashley padding out of the kitchen in her bathrobe, a heavily-laden breakfast tray in her hands. She stopped short when she saw them, and smiled widely.

"Hey dudes, what's happening?"

"Are we interrupting? We just came to see if you guys wanted to come out for brunch with us…" Kyla smiled self-consciously, while Aiden just stood there grinning like an idiot.

"Thanks for the offer, baby sis, but I think Spence and I are just gonna hang here for a little while longer…then we'll clean up your house and get gone. Is that cool?" Ashley put her tray down on the table and stretched her arms over her head.

"You ladies should definitely take your time," Aiden drawled, his eyes fixated on a small purple bruise on Ashley's throat.

"Okay, Aiden, you might be all big and beefy…but trust me, Spencer _will_ kick your ass if she sees you looking at me like that." As if on cue, the blonde in question came skipping down the stairs toward them, looking supremely relaxed, and humming to herself, wearing nothing but a pair of boy shorts and a little white tank top.

"Hey, everybody," she grinned, giving Aiden and Kyla a cursory glance before sliding up to Ashley, who happily wrapped her arms around the object of her affection as they shared a smoldering, unselfconscious kiss.

"Whoa!" Aiden's eyes fell on Spencer's wrists, wrapped around Ashley's neck. "Spencer, are those bruises on your--?"

"Okay, well we'll just be going now!" Kyla squeaked, pushing Aiden backwards through the front door, even as his eyes stayed fixed on the two girls who stood kissing in the middle of the room. "And _don't_ forget about the sheets, Spencer!" Kyla shouted, slamming the front door in Aiden's dumbstruck face.


	19. Midnight

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 19**

**By JewWitch**

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"One day when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do, he thought he would do something, so he went round to Piglet's house to see what Piglet was doing. It was still snowing as he stumped over the white forest track, and he expected to find Piglet warming his toes in front of his fire, but to his surprise he found that the door was open, and the more he looked inside the more Piglet wasn't there." Spencer stopped reading to turn the page, her book propped against the side of Ashley's stomach, while Ashley's hand sifted lightly through her hair. She put her own hand out and stroked the swollen belly beside her, pushing up her wife's loose t-shirt to kiss the smooth skin underneath. A tiny thump pressed back against her lips.

"Oh my God!" Ashley squealed, sitting up a little as Spencer leaned back and stared up at her incredulously. "Did you feel that, Spence? He's totally listening to you!" 

"Yeah," Spencer nodded, dumbstruck. "I felt it…" She put her hand back on the same spot, and Ashley pressed her own hand over Spencer's, both of them grinning goofily, completely lost in each other's eyes. Another small, pronounced thump pressed against their hands.

"I guess he likes Winnie the Pooh," Ashley said musingly. Spencer laughed and wrapped her arms around Ashley's neck, kissing her deeply.

"I love you…so much…"

"Mommy? …Mama?" Jackson's shuffling footsteps were muffled in the thick carpet as he crept into their bedroom, his stuffed monkey clutched in his arms and tears streaming down his face.

"Aw, baby, did you have a bad dream again?" Ashley asked, holding out her arm (the one that wasn't currently pinned under Spencer). He was under the covers with them in a flash, his face buried in Ashley's neck as he let loose the tears he'd been holding in. Ashley held his trembling body tight in her arms, while Spencer kissed him and stroked his hair, telling him quietly that everything was alright, and nothing bad was going to happen to him.

"Some-body t-t-tried to take me out the w-w-window!" The little boy sobbed, pressing his wet face harder into Ashley's neck. "I couldn't…" he gulped. "Couldn't scream…"

"It wasn't real, honey." Spencer smoothed his hair back, and gently tilted his chin so he'd look up at her. "It was just a nightmare, okay?" His wide, frightened brown eyes locked onto hers, and she smiled softly, wiping away his tears.

"But what if somebody really _did_ climb in my window?" He asked tremulously.

"Then the alarm would go off," Ashley reminded him, rubbing his back soothingly as his shallow breathing evened out.

"I'm scared…" he sniffed, ducking his face down against Ashley's neck again. "I want to sleep with you."

"How about if you stay in here until you feel better, and then we'll tuck you back into your own bed again," Spencer suggested, smoothing his sleep-mussed hair back from his forehead.

"No!" Jackson shrieked, his eyes filling with tears again. "Please Mama, please, I wanna stay here. Please!!"

"Okay honey, shh…okay," Spencer murmured, stretching her hand across Ashley's stomach to rub his back, while Ashley looked up at her from the pillow with a _why-the-hell-did-you-just-do-that_ face. Spencer sighed heavily, and shot her a weary _give-me-a-break_ look back. They spent several minutes calming their frightened child, until his tears finally stopped, and he lifted his head from the now-damp collar of Ashley's t-shirt.

"Why are you reading Winnie the Pooh?" He sniffed, picking up the book from where it lay on the covers beside them. "That's a book for kids, not grown-ups."

"Mama was just reading to the baby," Ashley explained, looking back at Spencer with a soft grin, her annoyance of moments ago already forgotten.

"Really? The baby can _hear?"_ Jackson stared at Ashley's stomach with an expression of utter incredulity.

"Not the same as we can, but yeah…he can hear us," Spencer nodded. "Reading to him now will help him recognize our voices when he comes out."

"So he'll know us right away…and feel nice and safe," Jackson remarked quietly, reaching out his hand, and resting it above Ashley's bellybutton.

"Mm-hmm," Ashley agreed quietly, leaning down and kissing his forehead. "I used to read to you when you were in Mama's tummy, too."

"You did?" He looked up, pleased and surprised, with a small grin. Ashley nodded. "Can I read to the baby, too?"

"Of course you can, sweetie." Spencer leaned over to kiss him, too, and handed him the old cloth-bound book that had once been her grandfather's. They all snuggled together under the covers, Jackson worming his way between his moms with his head by Ashley's stomach. They listened to him read, both thinking privately that their son was by far the most gifted seven-year-old on the planet. Before he'd finished the first story, he was asleep again, snoring softly between them and drooling on Ashley's stomach.

"Well that was interesting." Ashley plucked the book from his limp hand, and placed it on the bedside table.

"I wish I knew why he keeps having these nightmares," Spencer sighed, reaching down and lightly sifting her fingers through her son's soft brown hair. "It's like he's trying to tell us something, but I just don't know what…" She frowned, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Kids have nightmares, Spence. You can't psychoanalyze everything." Spencer raised an eyebrow; Ashley rolled her eyes. "Okay, you _can_, but it won't make any difference. All we can do is make him feel safe in the world he wakes up in. He'll work it out eventually on his own, you know that."

"And until then, we just won't have any sex at all?" Spencer grumbled with a mulish pout, gesturing to the snoring interloper to their bed.

"Aww, baby…" Ashley grinned delightedly at Spencer's miserable expression. "I love that the possibility of that makes you this crazy…but you're not thinking outside the box right now. The day is long, our house is large…" She leaned in, and kissed the pout right off Spencer's face. "We'll figure it out."

"Mmm…you make a good argument, Davies…" She leaned over the sleeping lump between them, and kissed the smirking brunette back. "Can I interest you in a nice, hot bubble bath?"

"I could be convinced…if I knew certain favors would be involved…" Ashley sighed airily, as if this was a whimsy that had only just occurred to her (_as if_, Spencer thought).

"Oh, there is no question about that." Spencer gave Ashley a lopsided grin, and got a crinkle-nosed smile back. "Lots of favors…" They slipped out of the bed, leaving Jackson snoozing cozily in the middle of their king-sized mattress, and made a beeline for the tub.


	20. How to Have Fun on a Friday Night

Hey peeps!

Hope everyone had a happy new year. Thanks for all the great feedback-- it totally makes my day! I especially like being called FIERCE. Here is another update...thanks for reading!

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 20**

**By JewWitch**

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Okay, monster babies, what should we get for dinner?" Ashley had one eye on the slow-moving LA traffic as she glanced into the back seat, where Jackson was putting on an impromptu puppet show with two of Ella's stuffed dinosaurs.

"Pumpkin waviowli!" The blonde-haired toddler chirped, waving her arms and bouncing in her car seat.

"Triceratops wants sushi," Jackson growled in a deep, rumbly voice, holding the stuffed toy up to Ashley's shoulder. "Grrr, California rollllllll…nom nom!"

"Oh my god," Ashley snickered, shaking her head. "You guys are turning into such total foodies. That's one thing you definitely did _not_ get from your Mama."

"What's a foodie?" Jackson asked, making his triceratops dance across the bar of Ella's car seat until she squealed with laughter.

"It's a word for someone who has very sophisticated tastes."

"What's sofis'tated?"

"_Sophisticated_. It means grown-up."

"And Mama doesn't like grown-up food?"

"Well, she does now…but I had to train her into it. When we first met, it was all grilled cheese and pop tarts. Can you believe that?"

"She didn't like sushi?"

"Baby, she wouldn't even try it. Sushi, Indian, Korean barbecue, you name it. They just didn't have much of that stuff in Ohio when she was growing up. The first time I got her to go out for sushi with me, she was so freaked out I had to put on a play with the octopus to distract her." Ashley grinned at the memory, a faraway expression creeping onto her face.

"But Mama always tells me it's good to try new things!" Jackson exclaimed, an almost scandalized expression on his face.

"Well, I told you—I trained her," Ashley shrugged smugly. "Some people aren't as naturally adventurous as we are, hon." She glanced over her shoulder, and winked at him.

"So does that mean we can have sushi for dinner?"

"Well, if Triceratops wants his California roll…"

"No, no!" Ella shrieked, throwing her toys in protest. "Waviowli!"

"How about dumplings and sauce, Elly? Yummy yummy," Ashley hummed a little, hoping to sing-song her way out of an argument.

"Chicken-stick," Ella countered firmly, which Ashley knew meant chicken satay with peanut sauce.

"Okay, Kiku's it is."

"Yay!" Both children cried, always a beautiful sound to Ashley's ears, especially as she was seven months pregnant and starving pretty much around the clock. She flipped open her phone and hit the button for Spencer's cell on the speed dial.

…………………………………………………………………

"…No, Jake, that's not what I'm saying. Why do you think everyone else here has it easier than you?" Spencer asked, ignoring the vibrating phone in her pocket. No cell phones during group was her idea, and if she could get a dozen teenagers to comply with it, she wasn't about to jinx it by breaking her own rule.

"Oh, puh-_lease_, Dr. C. These fools ain't got my troubles!" The skinny black boy cocked his head and crossed his arms, looking every bit as gay as he was. "Anybody else here in foster care? No. Anybody else got a quarterback boyfriend so deep in the closet, he be smellin' like mothballs? I don't think so, honey!"

"Hello, genius, at least you _have_ a boyfriend," the pink-haired girl seated across from him shot back. "I'd trade places with you in a second."

"Oooh, Naomi wants a boyfriend," teased another girl, with wavy brown hair and a lip ring. "You sure you're in the right group?"

"Whatever, Izzy." The pink-haired girl rolled her eyes; but Spencer noticed her glance back at the other girl as soon as she looked away.

"Look, guys-- this whole, whose-life-sucks-the-worst game you're all playing is never gonna end. Being gay in high school is tough, okay? We all know that. But guess what, you can make it easier for each other. Or harder. That's your choice. It's a choice I wish I'd had when I was your age, to be part of a group like this."

"Aww, don't be frontin' like you had it rough, Dr. C," The boy named Jake cut in, with a disbelieving shake of his head. "You married a rock star! Ain't you-all been together since, like, 8th grade or something?"

"11th grade, Jake, not 8th," Spencer replied with a small smirk. "And it wasn't a smooth ride, believe me. My own mother didn't even know I was gay until she walked in on us in bed together." There was an uproar of hooting and hollering from the group of teens.

"Aww, snap! You must've been hella embarrassed," The girl named Izzy interjected, not bothering to hide her smirk.

"I wish. Being embarrassed I could handle…I was too busy trying to stop my mom from ripping all of Ashley's hair out to be embarrassed."

"No shit! Your moms beat on Ashley Davies?" The entire group was silent now, staring wide-eyed at their erstwhile therapist, who looked back at them with a small, sad smile.

"Let's just say she didn't take it well. But you know what? Ask me how they get along now." The large grandfather clock in the corner chimed, signaling the end of the hour. "Okay, that's it for today-- everybody have a good weekend! And remember to be here by four on Tuesday if you want to come mini-golfing." The group rose in a chattering mass, most of them giving Spencer high-fives or fist bumps on the way out. "Hey, Naomi," Spencer called, holding the pink-haired girl back as she passed.

"What's up, Dr. C?" Spencer waited until all the other kids had gone, and they were alone in the room.

"Just ask her out, already."

"Who?" Naomi stuttered, eyes suddenly round as dinner plates.

"You know who," Spencer said slyly, raising her eyebrows with a smirk. "You and Izzy are giving off enough electricity to power my car…and that's in a room full of people! I can only imagine what it would be like if you actually got her alone." The pink-haired girl swallowed nervously, and looked down at her feet.

"What if she says no?" she mumbled, shoving her hands into her pockets, her entire demeanor changing in an instant.

"Then you'll feel like crap for a little while, and get on with your life," Spencer shrugged. "But at least you'll know where you stand." The teen shuffled her feet, still staring at the ground. "And, Naomi?" The girl finally looked up. "What if she says yes?" Spencer's phone vibrated again, and this time she fished it out of her pocket and flipped it open. _Meet us Kiku after group_, read the text, with a little sideways smiley-face. _Of course she picks Japanese_, Spencer thought; but she couldn't quite stop herself from smiling. _On my way_, she quickly wrote back.

…………………………………………………………………….

"Hi Mama!" Jackson made his triceratops wave as Spencer entered the crowded restaurant, and dropped into the empty seat beside her son.

"Hey, monkey," Spencer grinned, leaning across him to give Ashley a quick kiss before sitting down. "How was everyone's day?"

"Listen to what Elly can do," Jack said importantly, nudging his sister in her booster seat. "ABC, Elly," he stage-whispered, and the toddler beamed.

"ABCDEFG, HIJK, Elmo, P…" Spencer looked at Ashley, who gave her a _yes-you-heard-that-right_ look back, both of them grinning hugely as Ella continued to sing her ABC's with only a few mistakes, none of them as cute as the substitution of 'Elmo' for LMNO. When she was finished, they all clapped, and Ella got so excited, she banged on the table until her sippy-cup fell over.

"That's awesome, baby," Spencer yawned, rubbing her eyes with a slow grin.

"Long day, babe?" Ashley asked, reaching across the table to graze her fingertips over Spencer's arm.

"Something like that," Spencer agreed, blinking to clear her vision. "I'm glad it's Friday."

"Wanna blow off the benefit thing? We could stay home and watch Buffy instead."

"Oh yeah, like that would lead to a restful evening," Spencer snorted, thinking of the outfits stashed in their bedroom closet, that would be sure to find their way out if they started watching Buffy again.

"Okay, well, we don't have to watch Buffy…we can do something else lazy."

"Ash, we can't cancel on the Center, they're counting on us to be there. This is their biggest fundraiser of the year."

"Yeah, well, we already gave them a freakin' boatload of cash! Why do they need us at their stodgy old benefit, anyway?"

"Hmm, maybe because I'm the Youth Programming Director, and I need to be a visible presence? And you're at the top of the celebrity guest list, my dear. Anyway, Uh-huh Her is playing, and you love Leisha Hayley."

"I do love Leisha Hayley," Ashley grudgingly admitted, poking her chopsticks into the complimentary bowl of edamame in the middle of the table. "But I'm just not in the mood for the whole celebrity booze and schmooze thing tonight…especially since I can't even have the booze. That just leaves the schmooze. And frankly, I'd rather poke this chopstick through my eye." She waved the chopstick in front of her face, with a little wink for Jackson, to show him that she was just kidding. He giggled, and the Sprite he was drinking dribbled down his chin.

"Okay, fine, don't come," Spencer sighed, slumping back in her chair with a pout. "I'll just go by myself."

"That's not going to work, Spence," Ashley said firmly, with a resolute shake of her head.

"Fine," Spencer shrugged, staring dejectedly down at the tablecloth.

"I mean it. I'm not coming. You can pout till the cows come home if you want to."

"I'm not pouting," Spencer grumbled, crossing her arms. "Do what you want."

"Jesus, Spencer! I'm seven months pregnant here!"

"I just said you can do what you want!" Spencer snapped, her blue eyes finally meeting the brown ones across from her. They stared at each other in tense silence for a moment, while Ella obliviously began a new round of her ABC's.

"Why are we fighting?" Ashley finally asked, cocking her head to the side with a bewildered expression.

"Because we're tired," Spencer sighed, reaching out and squeezing Ashley's hand across the table. "Sorry for pouting. You're right, this isn't your responsibility. And you never made me do anything I didn't want to do when I was pregnant…I'll go solo."

"But you don't want to go, either," Ashley frowned, keeping her hold on Spencer's hand and tracing light patterns across her palm. "You're exhausted, I can see it in your eyes. Blow it off, hon. Let's stay home and eat ice cream and watch old cartoons."

"Yeah!" Jackson exclaimed, a huge grin blossoming on his face. "Stay home, Mama!" Spencer looked from one pair of imploring brown eyes to the other, and sighed, a tiny hint of a grin tugging at one corner of her mouth.

"This is so unfair, you two tag-teaming me with your big Bambi eyes…" Knowing they had won, Ashley and Jackson high-fived, while Ella continued to happily sing her ABC's beside them.

"If they give you any lip on Monday, just play the pregnant wife card. They can't argue with that, they're the freaking LGBT Community Center! And you're their golden girl."

"I thought I was _your_ golden girl," Spencer murmured, a playful twinkle in her eyes as she looked up at Ashley and batted her long eyelashes.

"Aw, baby…if you wanted some sugar, all you had to do was ask." They leaned across the table at the same time, their lips meeting in the middle in a sweet, gentle kiss.

"Ew, you guys! We're in public!" Jackson squealed, burying his face in his hands with an embarrassed groan.

"Sorry, kiddo," Ashley winked, sitting back in her chair with a dopey grin of triumph. "That's what parents are for. Just wait till you're in high school, then we'll _really_ embarrass you."


	21. Better than Ice Cream

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 21**

**By JewWitch**

Note: Ashley's song in this chap is "Angel Mine" by the Cowboy Junkies.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Spencer woke while it was still dark, not sure at first what had pulled her out of sleep—she wasn't too hot, or too cold; she didn't need a drink, and she didn't have to pee. Then she stretched her arm out across the bed, and found only empty sheets beside her. "Ash?" she called drowsily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes in the darkness. Getting no response, she glanced toward the bathroom door to see if a shaft of light was visible; but there was nothing. Unwilling to go back to sleep alone, she stumbled out of bed and pulled on her robe, wandering downstairs in search of her other half.

She found Ashley wrapped up in a blanket on the couch with a pint of Ben & Jerry's, flipping through old photo albums. The brunette had a soft, half-smile on her face, which was cranked up to a full-fledged Ashley grin when she saw Spencer coming down the stairs.

"Hey blondie," she greeted her, putting her ice cream down on the coffee table so she could wrap her arms around the sleepy-eyed girl who crawled onto the couch beside her.

"Mmm," Spencer mumbled, nestling her face against Ashley's neck. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I almost did, but you were sleeping really cute…"

"Uh-huh," Spencer yawned, shifting a little so she was curled more securely against the length of Ashley's body. "That's me…professional cute sleeper."

"I just didn't want to disturb you, angel," Ashley murmured, sifting her fingers lightly through Spencer's sleep-mussed hair and kissing her forehead.

"I think you just didn't want to share your ice cream."

"Who says I'm going to?" Spencer lifted her head from Ashley's shoulder with an extremely overdramatic pout, and Ashley snickered, rolling her eyes.

"Not even a bite?" Spencer asked in a sad little voice, which was totally undermined by the mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Ohhh, I suppose…" Ashley reached over Spencer and picked up the ice cream container from the coffee table, scooped out a spoonful, and fed it to the now smirking blonde.

"Yum," Spencer mumbled around the spoon. As soon as it was gone, Ashley replaced it with her lips. "…Double-yum."

"You're such a dork," Ashley giggled, and kissed her again.

"No, I'm Mrs. Dork," Spencer yawned, closing her eyes and dropping her head back onto Ashley's shoulder. "What are you doing down here?"

"Just looking at old pictures…hey, Spence?"

"Mmm," Spencer mumbled, already half-asleep again now that she had her favorite cuddle-toy back.

"Does it seem like time has started going by really fast?"

"Mm-hmm," Spencer agreed absently, with another yawn.

"I'm serious. I'm sitting here looking at these pictures from your UCLA days, and I'm like—wasn't that last week?" She pulled one photo out of the book, and held it up to the dim lamp light. "Remember this?"

"Mm-hmm," Spencer mumbled absently, without opening her eyes. Ashley poked her hard between the ribs. "Ow!" Eyes now fully open, Spencer glanced up at the photo in Ashley's hand. "Yeah, of course I remember…spazz." She leaned up on her elbow, and pressed a soft kiss to Ashley's lips.

"We were so young," Ashley sighed, a nostalgic grin tugging at her lips.

"Ash, we're _still_ so young." Spencer raised her eyebrows dryly.

"I know, I know. But here, we were _young_. We were babies."

"Mmm, yeah…happy babies."

"Very happy," Ashley agreed, kissing the tip of Spencer's nose.

"Delirious," Spencer grinned. Together they contemplated the old photo, taken the summer before Spencer's senior year of college. They were sitting entwined on the porch swing at Spencer's grandparents' summer house in Michigan, completely oblivious to having their picture taken as they shared an incredibly sweet and gentle kiss. Spencer's hand was cupping Ashley's face, inadvertently showing off the glinting diamond ring that had just been placed there. After staring at the photo for a minute, Ashley tucked it back in the album and slipped her hand into Spencer's, running her fingertips over that same ring.

"I love you," she whispered, nuzzling her face into Spencer's hair.

"Forever and for always," Spencer murmured back, tilting her head up with a smile, and waiting for Ashley to lean down and kiss her (it was a very short wait). Both still thinking about the picture they'd just seen…both forgetting, for a moment, that any time had passed at all.

……………………………………………………………………….

It was Ashley's fourth summer in a row at the lake house with the Carlins, and she was getting to know the place almost as well as Spencer and Glen did. They all looked forward to the long, lazy days in the woods, swimming in the lake and swinging from the old tire swing that Spencer's grandfather had put up long before they were born. It was an entirely different kind of beach experience from what they were used to in LA; not only because there were no waves, but also because they rarely saw another human being outside of their family, unless they drove into town and hit the public beach with its grill pits and campsites. It was a level of tranquility completely unknown to Ashley when she first visited the place at age 18; but once she got over the initial shock, she started looking forward to the annual treks just as much as Spencer did. Usually they spent the entire month of July, but this summer was Spencer's last in college, and she'd managed to land an extremely competitive internship with one of LA's hottest up-and-coming directors; so rather than a month of lake fun, the two girls had flown up for just a week. It was the 4th of July, Spencer's favorite holiday, and Ashley had some special plans of her own to make it extra-memorable.

"Ash, do you seriously have any idea where you're going here? I'm worried we're gonna miss the fireworks."

"Spence, just chill. We're not gonna miss the fireworks. It's not even dark yet." Ashley smirked mysteriously, and continued rowing the little canoe into the gathering darkness.

"But what if we get lost?"

"We're not lost!" Ashley laughed. "I know exactly where I'm going. Kind of weird that I know the lake better than you now, huh?" She winked at the indignant expression on Spencer's face.

"You do not," Spencer pouted. "I just know our side of the lake better." Unable to think of anything else to strengthen her argument, she gazed out at the sunset, reaching down and trailing her fingertips briefly through the cool water. "Seriously, Ash, where are we going?"

"Will you shut up and enjoy the freaking moment, please? I'm trying to be romantic, here." Spencer grinned bemusedly, but kept her mouth closed for the remainder of the boat ride. It was only a few minutes before they bumped up against a very small island, which Spencer was sure she'd never visited before. They weren't very far from shore—a few hundred feet, at most—but it wasn't a hospitable area for beachgoers, all rocky cliff and shrubs, giving the whole area a feeling of privacy and seclusion. As they helped each other out of the little rowboat, tying it securely to a nearby tree branch, Spencer noticed Ashley's hands shaking a little.

"Babe, is everything okay?" Spencer cocked her head and took Ashley's shaky hand in hers, holding it to her cheek.

"Everything's great, Spence," Ashley grinned, though Spencer still thought there was something off in her expression. "Do me a favor, and wait here for just a minute, okay? I'll come right back and get you."

"Um, okay…" Before Spencer could ask any more probing questions, Ashley planted a quick kiss on her lips and took off into the foliage. With a shrug, Spencer sat on a nearby rock and watched the sunset, letting her mind wander freely, without any real coherent thought. The sky above her head was darkening to a deep, velvety shade, which transitioned slowly to a brighter cerulean blue near the tree line, where the last crimson rays of sunlight were quickly disappearing. Before she'd stopped admiring the natural beauty all around her, Ashley was back, carrying a small lantern and grinning nervously.

"Ready?" The brunette gulped, holding out her hand. Spencer nodded, automatically offering Ashley a reassuring smile in return. Out of nowhere, Spencer got a flash of memory, from the night of her first King High dance-- her very first week of school, when she'd begged and begged Ashley to come, though the rebellious teen had insisted that there was no way in hell she'd show up at a school-sponsored mating ritual. In the end, she'd caved to Spencer's pleading, though—and when she finally showed, she had the same poorly-disguised expression of terror on her face that she wore right now. Pushing the memory aside, Spencer followed Ashley up the bank and through the trees, till they came to a grassy clearing, illuminated all around the edges with the glowing light of several dozen candles. In the middle was a large blanket, where Ashley had set out a picnic dinner, her guitar, and a bottle of champagne. Since none of that stuff had been in the canoe with them, Spencer realized that Ashley must've made another trip here today to set it all up. She used to joke that her dark-haired girlfriend was a closet romantic; but really, she was just romantic, nothing closeted about it.

"Aww, baby…" Spencer beamed, and pulled Ashley into her arms for a long, appreciative kiss. "I can't believe you did all this."

"Well, I felt bad that you're only getting a week of real vacation this summer," Ashley shrugged, grinning goofily at Spencer's awe-struck expression. "I really wanted to make it count."

"Mission accomplished," Spencer beamed, grabbing Ashley's hand and leading her over to the blanket, where they curled up together and began feeding each other bits of fruit and cheese. After they'd eaten, and drank most of the champagne, Ashley took out her guitar and played a few of Spencer's favorite songs, while the blonde girl just beamed wordlessly at her side, the soft candlelight glinting off her long blonde hair so it seemed to glow with soft, golden light. They sat in silence for a while, Ashley strumming a little of this and that, till she got up the nerve she was searching for. Her insides felt like they were full of wriggling worms when she finally stopped strumming, making Spencer look up from where she lay daydreaming on the blanket by Ashley's feet.

"I wrote a new song for you."

"Yeah?" Spencer sat up, a shy, delighted smile touching her lips.

"Yeah," Ashley nodded, catching the clear blue gaze across from her, and falling into it head-first.

"So…can I hear it?" Spencer prodded, after a long moment of silence.

"Oh…oh, yeah," Ashley flushed, readjusting her guitar and playing a few introductory chords. Then, with a gulp, she began to sing.

I searched for those wings that I knew  
this angel should have at her back  
And although I can't find them  
I really don't mind  
because I know they'll grow back  
And I reached for that halo I know  
that she had when she first caught my eye  
though my hand came back empty  
I'm really not worried  
'cause I know it still shines

I can't promise that I'll grow those wings  
or keep this tarnished halo shined  
but I'll never betray your trust  
angel mine

I search all the time on the ground  
for our shadows cast side by side  
Just to remind me that I haven't gone crazy  
that you exist and are mine  
And I know that your skin is as warm and as real  
as that smile in your eyes  
But I have to keep touching and smelling  
and tasting for fear it's all lies

I can't promise that I'll grow those wings  
or keep this tarnished halo shined  
but I'll never betray your trust  
angel mine

Last night I awoke from the deepest of sleeps  
with your voice in my head  
And I could tell by your breathing  
that you were still sleeping  
I repeated those words you had said

I can't promise that I'll grow those wings  
or keep this tarnished halo shined  
but I'll never betray your trust  
angel mine…

When Ashley finished singing, she looked up and saw that Spencer had tears in her eyes. "I wasn't trying to make you cry."

"Baby, come here…" Spencer held out her arms, and Ashley hastily put her guitar aside and slipped into them, closing her eyes as Spencer kissed her all over her face. "You amaze me…every day," the blonde murmured, pulling back with a soft smile.

"Back atcha, blondie," Ashley winked, breaking the seriousness of the moment and making them both giggle. "Wanna finish off that champagne, and head back for the fireworks?"

"Hmm, I dunno, I think we could make some pretty good fireworks of our own right here…" Spencer wiggled her eyebrows, and Ashley snorted, knowing that Spencer would never really miss watching the county fireworks display with her family. "But the champagne sounds good."

"You sit, I'll get it." Ashley crawled across the blanket to where the picnic basket sat, and retrieved their glasses, making rather a production of filling them with her back to Spencer. When she turned around, her dark eyes were full of reflected moonlight. She held one of the glasses out to the blonde, who took it without really looking—her eyes were locked onto Ashley's intense gaze.

"Here's to my angel," the dark haired girl murmured, holding up her glass.

"And mine," Spencer smiled softly, before clinking their glasses together. As she drained the last of her champagne, something small and hard bumped against her lips, and she jumped, sloshing a little of the bubbly drink down the front of her shirt. Reaching up, her fingers closed around something round, cool and metallic. She knew what it was before she'd even raised it to her eyes; but she still couldn't quite believe it. Spencer looked from the ring in her hand, to her girlfriend who sat wide-eyed beside her, an expression of equal parts terror and elation on her face.

"Are you serious?" Spencer finally asked, a disbelieving grin spreading slowly over her face as she stared at the glittering diamond ring.

"As a heart attack."

"Oh my god, this is…kind of hilarious." Spencer shook her head, and grinned at Ashley, who was rapidly getting her angry-drama-queen look.

"I'm sorry, it's _what?_ I'm asking you to marry me, and you think it's _hilarious?"_

"No, baby…that's not the hilarious part."

"Then what?" Ashley demanded, growing increasingly agitated with each second that ticked by without Spencer saying "yes."

"This." Spencer reached into her pocket, and pulled out a tiny velvet box, holding it out to the utterly perplexed girl across from her. Slowly, Ashley reached out and took it, flipping up the top to reveal a breathtaking ring of white gold, crowned with a shining black diamond.

"Oh," she said dumbly, staring at the ring with her mouth half-open.

"Ash," Spencer murmured, a playful smile tugging at her lips as she cocked her head at the dumbstruck girl across from her. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ashley sobbed, throwing her arms around Spencer and kissing her until they were both breathless. Laughing, they took turns putting the rings on each other's fingers, and stared at their entwined hands without talking for several long moments.

"Someday," Spencer said quietly, looking up at Ashley with an utterly angelic smile, "we're going to be telling our grandchildren this story, you know."

"Promise?"

"Oh yeah," Spencer nodded, beaming, and wrapped her arms around Ashley's neck for another kiss. Over their heads, a dazzling explosion of colored lights illuminated the night sky.


	22. Shake, Rattle & Roll

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 22**

**By JewWitch**

Author's note: I know this chap is pretty short, but it's really just a set-up for…the last chapter. Yep, here is your five-minute-snooze-alarm warning: the next chap will be the last chap of this story! It's been a ton of fun writing this, and I really appreciate all the groove-tastic feedback! But it's already wicked long, and even though it could hypothetically go on forever, I am feeling like it's time to wrap this up—mostly because I have another story idea brewing that I really want to start. So there's no reason to be sad ;)

Enjoy!

……………………………………………………………………………………………

After they finished their ice cream, Spencer and Ashley crawled back into bed, the blonde rubbing slow circles over her wife's pregnant belly until she was fast asleep again. It only took a few moments; Spencer could always tell when Ashley was asleep. She kept up the gentle tummy-rub anyway, because it soothed her, too. Yawning, Spencer stretched out, and curled up tighter against Ashley, drifting pleasantly in the warm, foggy zone between being awake, and falling asleep. She was about to drift off completely, when she abruptly realized the bed was vibrating. The first thing she thought, in her sleepy stupor, was that someone was playing the drums upstairs; then she remembered that they _were_ upstairs, and they didn't have any drums. She opened her eyes. The entire house suddenly began to shake around them.

"Ashley!" Spencer shrieked, totally unnecessarily as the brunette was already staring back at her, wide-eyed and terrified. They had both been through earthquakes before, more than once, but this wasn't like the little shakes and shimmies they were used to. It was like the house was having an epileptic seizure. A fat chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling, and smacked Spencer's shoulder on the way down.

"Doorway!" Ashley shouted, but Spencer was already scooting across the bed and pushing her toward the door, both of them gripping each other's hands hard enough to cut off circulation. It had been maybe fifteen seconds by this point, which was about the longest earthquake Spencer had ever experienced; but it wasn't slowing. She looked up and saw Jackson in his own doorway a few feet down the hall, looking terrified but unharmed. Two year-old Ella was nowhere in sight, though her screams were just audible over the din.

"I have to get Ella!" Spencer shouted in Ashley's ear, as the lurching house threw her against her wife in the doorway.

"I'm coming too!" Ashley yelled back, white-faced, already taking a step into the hall.

"No!" Spencer shrieked, pushing a shocked Ashley back hard against the doorframe by her shoulders. "You stay right here! Do _not_ fucking move!" There was no time to argue, and Spencer's expression at that moment was so fierce, that for once Ashley had no retort. She just nodded, and leaned back against the doorway, wrapping her arms around her stomach in an attempt to protect the baby. Spencer scrambled down the lurching hall, her progress nightmarishly slow as she fought to keep her footing. Another chunk of plaster hit her sharply in the back, sending her to the floor, and making Jackson and Ashley both scream from where they stood watching. The blow winded her for a moment, but she was up again in seconds, yelling for her son to stay where he was, still making her way toward the sound of Ella's unfailing shrieks. Spencer was actually strangely comforted by her daughter's screaming, because it meant that she hadn't been knocked out, or worse. Without giving herself time to dwell on the "or worse," she threw herself into Ella's doorway. At that exact moment, the quake stopped. Just like that. Spencer fell flat on her face on the debris-strewn carpet, as the sudden reduction in noise threw Ella's hysterical sobs into sharp relief.

"I got you, baby girl," Spencer choked, pulling the red-faced toddler out of her crib and holding her painfully tight, both of them shaking hard and coughing in the dust-filled air. A second later, a pair of arms locked around her hips, and Jackson's dusty brown head wormed under her arm, also shaking with sobs. "Ash, are you okay?" Spencer called shakily down the hall, both her hands running unsteadily over her children's bodies in search of injury.

"Yeah," Ashley croaked, still breathing hard as her heart rate slowed, stumbling as fast as her huge belly would allow toward her family. Time had a funny quality to all of them, anyway, at that moment; the initial shock of the massive earthquake was still ringing all around them, like ripples in a still pond, and Spencer couldn't say whether it was seconds or hours before Ashley's trembling arms were around her. Finally the four of them were huddled together, hugging each other and crying.

"Is anybody hurt?" Spencer asked shakily, looking up from Ashley's shoulder after a few long moments.

"You are, Spence. You're bleeding." Spencer followed Ashley's eyes down to her own shoulder, which, she now noticed, was soaked with dark red blood.

"Oh," she said numbly, allowing Ashley to lift Ella out of arms as she blinked dazedly at the sight of her own blood seeping into the pink flannel of her pajamas. "Right, from the plaster…it's okay." She reached out her good arm and pressed her hand over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "It doesn't hurt." Ella had stopped crying, but was whimpering continuously in Ashley's arms, her little body holding on in a death grip.

"Jackie, baby, go in the bathroom and get the first aid kit. Be careful where you step," Ashley instructed her son calmly, squeezing his shoulder. His round, terrified eyes moved from Ashley, to Spencer, lingering on the blood seeping down her arm.

"Okay," he nodded tremulously, picking his way gingerly through the smashed-up detritus of the house, and returning moments later with the kit from under the sink.

"Hey, I think this is the first time we've ever used anything out of this kit besides the band-aids," Ashley joked, as much for her white-faced little boy's sake as for Spencer's. "I have to take back what I said now; I guess you weren't just being a hyper-paranoid soccer mom after all, Spence." Once she broke open a bottle of sterile saline and washed away the blood that was coating Spencer's shoulder, Ashley saw that the cut itself wasn't too big. It _was_ a bit deep, and would definitely require stitches; but for now a couple of butterfly bandages would hold it together. "Still with me, blondie?"

"I'm fine, Ash." Spencer smiled, a little white in the face; but she held her wife's anxious gaze until Ashley smiled back. They were all sprawled on the hallway carpet now, Ashley leaning over Spencer's bleeding shoulder while Jackson held Ella in his lap on Spencer's other side, quietly singing "the itsy-bitsy spider" in shell-shocked voices.

"There we go," Ashley hummed, taping up one side of the cut, and reaching for another bandage. "This is gonna be one bad-ass scar, angel cake…" She grinned saucily at the blonde; then a sharp pain lanced through her abdomen, and she gasped, gritting her teeth in surprised pain. "Oh, hell, no," she muttered darkly. Spencer looked up questioningly. "Um…baby?" Ashley gulped, calmly finishing her bandaging of Spencer's shoulder as she spoke. "I don't want to alarm you, but…I think the baby's coming."


	23. Conclusion

**Into the Morning**

**Chapter 23 **

**By JewWitch**

A/N: I _have_ actually seen a baby born with my own eyes (my sister), but I am going to err on the side of leaving out the most gruesome details of childbirth here. You'll still get a vivid picture, I hope, just not one that will give you nightmares.

Thanks again for reading, everybody, and thanks too for all your feedback. Look for my next story, titled "The Carlin Girls," coming soon!

Enjoy!

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Are you serious? _Now_ now?" Spencer reached out a hand to touch Ashley's stomach, as if the baby could give her a direct answer by Morse code. But she had barely lifted her arm when a white-hot bolt of pain shot through her shoulder, and she cried out, cradling her hurt arm as a rush of tears spilled unbidden down her cheeks.

"Whoa, baby. Don't move, okay?" Ashley was back in alpha-dog mode, pulling Spencer's blood-soaked pajama top away from her hurt shoulder to inspect the bandage again.

"I'm okay," Spencer panted, hastily wiping away the tears streaking her face with her good hand. "We need to get you to the hospital, Ash."

"Actually, you're _not_ okay," Ashley frowned, holding up her fingers, coated in Spencer's blood. "You need to keep that arm still until we get you stitched up." She rustled around inside the still-open first aid kit, coming out with a large cloth triangle. "Here, just hold still a minute…" she leaned over and bound the makeshift-sling around Spencer's arm, tying the knot over her good shoulder. "There we go." They shared a weak smile, both of their faces thoroughly drained of color. Ashley gasped as another contraction gripped her body, and she reached out and squeezed Spencer's leg, hard, until it passed.

"Okay, we have to get to the hospital," Spencer said, pushing herself up on her good hand. "C'mon, kids, let's get our shoes…"

"Spence, get real. Neither one of us is in any shape to drive right now, and I'm betting all the ambulances are tied up already. Besides, they're sure to be totally overwhelmed with trauma cases—and I do _not_ want to have this baby in some ER waiting room."

"So what do you want to do?" Spencer asked helplessly, a bewildered expression on her face as she reached out with her good arm and pressed a hand to Ashley's stomach.

"Call your parents. Get them here. Now." Spencer nodded, and ran for the phone, Jack trailing close behind her while Ella stayed beside Ashley. She tried the land line first, but it was dead.

"What's going to happen to Mommy?" Jackson asked, his voice quivering with barely suppressed panic as he watched Spencer toss the useless phone aside.

"Mommy's gonna be fine, sweetie," Spencer said distractedly, tearing through her purse for her cell phone. She couldn't search very well with only one hand, and after a minute, she just dumped the whole thing out on the floor. Her cell phone wasn't anywhere in the pile, and she screamed in frustration, kicking her empty purse across the room. Jackson started to cry.

"I'm sorry, baby," Spencer sighed, kneeling down in front of him and reaching out to stroke his face with her good hand. "We're all a little scared right now. But I promise, I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to Mommy." She knew even as the words left her lips that she had no way of making this guarantee; that her ability to protect Ashley, the kids, or even herself from further harm was slim to none. But she also knew that this was not the time to voice those doubts and fears, and certainly not to her little boy, whose terrified brown eyes were looking to her for reassurance that this was not, contrary to all appearances, the coming of the apocalypse.

"Can I help?" He asked, gulping back his tears as Spencer held his gaze with a stoic smile.

"Actually, yeah…" Spencer broke off and coughed, shaking some of the dust and grit loose from her hair. "Help me find my cell phone, okay? That's the most important thing right now." They both got down on their knees, rooting through the debris strewn across the room in search of a glint of anything small and metallic. Another shriek from overhead made them both look up. "You keep looking, okay baby? I'll be right back," Spencer promised, scrambling up as quickly as she could on one hand and racing back up the stairs toward the sound of Ashley's voice.

"What the hell is going on down there?" The brunette growled, having made her way back to their bed, where she now sat with a pile of pillows behind her back, Ella playing sedately with a few dusty stuffed animals beside her.

"The land line's dead. We're looking for my cell phone." Spencer sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out her good hand to squeeze Ashley's knee. "How far apart are the contractions?"

"I don't know…seven or eight minutes?"

"Okay, that's good. We've still got time. We just need to get my mom here…" Spencer broke off coughing again, kicking up more of the plaster dust that was settling around them. Ashley looked up at her with the same frightened expression that Jackson had worn when she kicked her purse across the room.

"Spencer. Before you do anything else, you need to go find your inhaler."

"Ash, please don't worry about me right now. You need to relax, okay? We want to keep you from going into active labor for as long as possible."

"If you want me to relax," Ashley growled, holding her stomach with both hands, "You'll go find your goddam inhaler. I'm not trying to coddle you, okay? We just had an earthquake, we're both completely freaked out, and you're breathing in, like, half a gallon of plaster dust. If you have an asthma attack right now, we are all fucked. So stop trying to be so fucking noble, Jesus!" At that moment, Jackson came racing into the room, with Spencer's cell phone brandished in his hand.

"I found it!" he cried, smiling hugely. "I called Grandma and Grandpa! They said to tell you they're coming as fast as they can. And I found this too," he added, holding out Spencer's inhaler in his other hand. "I heard you coughing a lot, Mama. I think you need it." He bounced up onto the bed beside them, pushing his prizes into Spencer's hand and blinking serenely.

"Who needs to be noble?" Spencer asked after a moment of silence, in which they both just started at their son with their mouths hanging open. "We've already got our hero right here."

…………………………………………………….

Three hours later, Ashley's contractions were barely a minute apart, and Paula and Arthur still hadn't arrived. Spencer had managed to get the kids settled down in the living room with crayons and color books, where she hoped the sound of Ashley's anguished screaming wouldn't carry.

"Where are your parents?" Ashley sobbed, gripping the sheets so hard her knuckles turned white as another bolt of pain seared through her, making her feel like she was being torn slowly in half from the inside out.

"They're coming, baby," Spencer soothed her, wiping the sweat from Ashley's forehead with a damp cloth. "You're doing great, just breathe…"

"Don't tell me to fucking breathe!" Ashley snarled, eyes narrowed. "This is all your fault, Spencer Anne Carlin-Davies!" Spencer froze with her hand in midair, unsure at that moment whether she was more afraid _for_ Ashley, or _of _Ashley. "You're the one who talked me into this! And I swear to God, I am not gonna have this baby without a doctor in the room. So get your mom here, and I mean _now!!"_ Spencer gulped, and fished her phone out of her pocket, hastily hitting the speed dial.

"Mom! It's been three hours, where the hell are you?" She demanded the second her mother's voice came through the receiver.

"We're doing the best we can, Spence, the roads are a mess. How far apart are the contractions?"

"About a minute," Spencer replied anxiously, trying to keep her voice and body language as calm as possible for Ashley's sake.

"Already?" Paula's surprise was impossible to mask, which did nothing for Spencer's failing attempts to stay calm. "Shit, we might not make it in time. You're going to have to get ready for the delivery on your own, Spence." Looking over at Ashley's flushed face, Spencer felt the bottom drop out of her stomach, like she'd just fallen through a trap door. "Spencer?" Paula's urgent voice snapped her back into herself. "Honey, you need to stay calm. I know this isn't how you planned it, but this baby is coming now, and he doesn't care about your plans. You've been through this twice before, so you know what to expect. You can do this, okay?"

"Okay," Spencer nodded, sitting up a little straighter, and giving Ashley the most reassuring smile she could summon. She clicked her phone off, and Ashley raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Well?"

"Well…you said you wouldn't have this baby without a doctor in the room…" Spencer gave her a half-smile and a lopsided shrug. "And I know this wasn't what you meant, but…a PhD in adolescent psychology will have to do."

"Are you kidding me?" Ashley shrieked, her breath coming fast and shallow as her brown eyes widened in panic. "Spencer, we can't do this by ourselves. What if something goes wrong? You only have one working arm! What if—"

"Shh." Spencer scooted closer to Ashley on the bed, leaned down, and silenced her with a soft kiss. "I know you're scared, baby…I know you're in unbelievable pain right now, and I know this isn't how we planned this. But our baby is coming now, whether we're ready or not. And I promised you nine months ago that I was gonna take care of you all the way through this, no matter what. No fucking way I'm breaking that promise now." They held each other's eyes, neither of them speaking for a long minute. Finally, Ashley nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Just promise me one more thing, Spence?"

"Anything, baby."

"Promise me that if you deliver this baby…it's not going to ruin our sex life forever." Spencer laughed, leaned down, and covered Ashley's tearstained face with kisses.

"I promise."

They spent the next half hour going through every deep-breathing exercise they'd ever learned in Lamaze class, until finally Spencer told Ashley it was time to push.

"Are you sure?" Ashley panted, her voice hoarse from screaming.

"I can see the head, Ash! He's coming! Now push!" Ashley grabbed a handful of bedding, arched her back, and screamed, her entire body shaking with the effort of pushing as hard as she could.

"He's crowning!" Spencer cried, and Ashley could feel her wife's hand wiping something warm and wet off her thighs. "One more push, baby!"

"What is that? Is that blood?" Ashley asked weakly, still out of breath from the last push.

"It's okay, Ash, it's totally normal. You're doing so great, baby. Just one more push and we'll have our little boy, okay?"

"Are you just telling me it's okay so I won't freak out?" Ashley panted, trying to push herself up on her elbows to see how much blood was coming out of her.

"No Ash, I'm telling you it's okay because it actually is. It's just the bloody show, remember? The part right before the baby comes out? I promise, this is exactly what's supposed to happen. Now push!" Ashley closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and screamed bloody murder. A moment later, a tiny cry filled the air.

"Is he out? Is he okay?" Ashley asked weakly, her voice completely spent from screaming.

"He's perfect," Spencer sobbed, pulling a towel from the pile beside her and gently wiping the blood and gunk from the squalling infant. Then she scooped up his tiny body in one hand and laid him on Ashley's chest, hastily covering him with another towel so he wouldn't be cold.

"Hey, little guy," Ashley whispered, tears streaming down her face as she cradled the tiny body against her own. "How was your trip?" Enormous brown eyes blinked silently back at her, an expression of pure bewilderment on the tiny pink face. "I know what you mean," Ashley murmured, yawning as she felt Spencer curl up beside her, kissing her sweat-slicked forehead. "But I promise, most days around here won't be this exciting. 'Kay?"

Ashley just stared into her baby's eyes for the next few minutes, while Spencer cut the umbilical cord and cleaned it up as best she could, using a sterile Bactine swab from the first aid kit (which Ashley would never again tease her for buying) and wrapping them both in a fresh, clean blanket from the hall closet. Finally, Spencer slipped from the room, tiptoeing downstairs to find Jack and Ella in the kitchen, eating ice cream straight from the carton. Seeing Spencer, they both froze, an incredibly guilty look on their chocolate-covered faces. But Spencer just grinned at them.

"Ready to meet your little brother?"

……………………………………………………………………………………

**Epilogue**

"I caught one! Elly, look! Look, look, look!" The excited three-year-old shrieked, racing to show his sister the tiny blinking firefly in his jar. The blonde-haired five-year old inspected her little brother's prize closely, her smile mirroring his own enthusiasm, even though she already had about half a dozen softly pulsing lights flitting around her own jar.

"Yup, that's a nice one, Tristan." Having gotten his first round of approval, the little boy raced to show his treasure to the rest of his family. Ten-year-old Jackson was crouched down beside the shrubs where most of the glowing lights were concentrated, offering his beaming little brother only a slight nod to show that he had seen the single firefly in his jar, and was duly impressed. Finally, Tristan made his way back to the lounge chair where his parents were curled up together, whispering and giggling with their legs entwined.

"Mommy, Mama, lookit!" He squealed, crawling up and worming between them with his jar held proudly aloft.

"Wow-- that's awesome, baby." Spencer reached out and ran her fingers through his glossy brown curls, hanging down to his shoulders now as he refused to let it be cut. He beamed at her praise, showing off the nose-crinkling smile he had inherited from Ashley.

"I'm gonna call him Blinky," he whispered seriously, holding the jar up to his dark eyes with both hands, and staring deeply into it. "And I will keep him forever and ever."

"We can't keep him forever, hon," Ashley reminded him gently, shifting slightly against Spencer on the cushioned lounge chair, and patting her youngest child consolingly on the back. "He needs fresh air and food and water to live. We'll keep him for tonight, though. Then he can go back to his family."

"But what if I make it nice for him?" the little boy asked stubbornly, still staring adoringly at his firefly inside the jar.

"How are you gonna do that?" Ashley asked. In answer, Tristan wriggled out from between his moms, and raced back to the shrub, carefully picking off a little stem with a few leaves on it. Then he unscrewed the top of his jar, slowly and meticulously, opening it just enough so he could drop the branch inside.

"There," he smiled.

"You really think one little piece of a branch is the same as being free and living with his family?" Spencer asked gently, trying not to smile at the tragic-looking pout emerging on her son's angelic little face.

"But…I love him," he whimpered, clinging tightly to his jar, as if it was about to be sucked out of his arms by a tornado.

"I know, sweetie. But living things have to be free." The little boy looked back and forth between his moms for a moment; then the closed his eyes and wailed.

"What's wrong, Tristan?" Ella ran to them with her own jar clutched tight in her hands. "Do you want some of my fireflies to keep yours company?"

"He's just sad we can't keep them as pets, honey," Spencer explained, smiling at the concern her pigtailed five-year-old showed for her little brother.

"Don't cry, Baby Boo," Ella said gently, using the family nickname for their youngest, and putting her own jar down to hug him. "Aren't you excited for tomorrow? It's your _first_ first day of school!" He stopped crying abruptly, and wiped his eyes.

"I want you and Jackie to walk me to my room," He sniffled. "And don't leave until I say."

"Promise," Ella nodded, beaming. "You'll like Preschool, Tristan, you get to play all day. And you'll have Mrs. Parker for your teacher, she's real nice." They both climbed back onto the oversized lounge chair with Spencer and Ashley, cuddling happily with their moms as they discussed all the exciting things that would happen the next day.

"I want to wear my new tutu for my first day of Kindergarten," Ella added, resting her face against Spencer's arm.

"Me too!" Tristan squealed.

"You can't wear a tutu to school, dummy," Jackson said, rolling his eyes as he clambered back toward them with his own, very full jar of fireflies.

"Can too!" the three-year-old shrieked indignantly.

"Don't call your brother a dummy," Spencer scolded, causing the ten-year-old to sigh in a world-weary way as he sat in the empty chair beside them.

"But people will think he's a girl!"

"I don't care," Tristan shrugged. Jackson slapped his hand over his eyes, and groaned dramatically.

"Look, Tristan, going to school isn't like playing dress-up at home. You have to get along with lots of other kids. Boys aren't 'spozed to wear tutus!"

"Boys can wear whatever they want, and so can girls," Ella said stubbornly, folding her arms and glaring at her older brother, the same determined expression in her blue eyes that they usually saw on Spencer's face when they tried to stay up past their bedtimes.

"Jack, I know you want to protect your brother from being teased," Spencer said gently, "but Ella's right. There's no rule that says boys can't wear tutus if they want to. If you really want to protect him, you should tell that to any kids who tease him for it."

"And since when do you care what everyone else thinks, anyway, mister rebel?" Ashley added, giving her oldest a knowing smirk. "You know when Mama and I were in high school, we got teased for being in love. Kids back then said that two girls or two boys weren't supposed to be in love, only a boy and a girl."

"_Those_ kids were dummies," Tristan said firmly, looking to his big brother for some sign of validation. Jackson looked back at him, and rolled his eyes again, a reluctant smile spreading over his face.

"Okay, squirt. I'll walk you to class in your glittery pink tutu. But I am _not_ introducing you to your teacher as _Princess Tristan."_

"Thank you Jackie!" the little boy squealed, jumping out of his seat to throw himself into his big brother's lap.

"Whatever," Jackson shrugged, his cheeks turning slightly pink in the dusky twilight.

"See, _that's_ how a kid who's about to start fifth grade acts," Ashley said in mock-seriousness to Spencer, who nodded gravely back. "Are you stoked or what, dude? You finally made it—top of heap! At least until next year, when you'll be back at the bottom of the barrel in junior high."

"Get a grip, Mom." He rolled his eyes at her, and she rolled hers back.

"Okay, everybody inside. If you guys get your pj's on quick, we can watch iCarly before bed." All three children leapt from their seats as if they were spring-loaded, even Jackson, who forgot to act disinterested. Once they'd all run into the house, Spencer and Ashley smirked at each other, and curled up tighter in each other's arms, sharing a long, slow, deep kiss.

"Works like a charm, every time," Ashley purred, trailing her fingertips up Spencer's warm skin under her t-shirt.

"For now," Spencer agreed, a bittersweet smile on her face. "Did you see how many eye rolls Jack gave us tonight? I swear he's gonna blind himself within six months at this rate."

"Yeah, he's getting pretty broody," Ashley nodded wryly. "If it gets much worse, I vote we just tie him to a stake here in the yard till he graduates high school." Spencer smacker her shoulder, and suddenly they were caught in a vicious tickle-fight, both of them shrieking with laughter as they tried to worm out of each other's grip.

"Truce!" Spencer panted, gasping for breath through her laughter.

"No way, blondie. Surrender or death!"

"Mommy, Mama, c'mon! The show is starting!" Ella's voice floated out into the yard.

"Coming!" Spencer called back, still giggling, and rested her head on Ashley's shoulder as she caught her breath.

"Not yet," Ashley growled playfully, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at her wife's blushing grin. "But you will be…once the kids are in bed."

"Little miss slick," Spencer smirked, leaning up on one elbow, and giving Ashley one last kiss before standing up, and offering the brunette her hand. "I do believe that's the best offer I've gotten all day." Hand in hand, they walked back inside, carefully setting the three jars of fireflies their kids had collected in a row by the patio door, where they'd be waiting to be released in the morning.

**THE END**


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